ATIC Promotes DR Congo Industrialization Corridor During Tour in South Africa

In the context of the security issues in eastern side of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Africa Trade and Investment Council (ATIC) presented its project to implement an Industrialization Corridor on the western side of the country. In that regard, ATIC CEO Mandisa Booi led a 60-person strong delegation to South Africa to promote the Corridor.

The Corridor was raised and discussed during the visit to the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on 12 March 2025. This Corridor is not unlike the Lobito Corridor and North-South Corridor with similar and complementary objectives. As part of the study and promotion tour, the ATIC delegation also traveled to Durban to visit the Dube Trade Port SEZ and to initiate contact with interested parties.

“We are in the process of finalizing transnational agreements and also looking at the legal framework. At the same time, ATIC is also exploring partnerships to set up consortiums in order to implement the Industrialization Corridor.”

ATIC Director of Investment Zwelethu Dlamini

At the moment, Africa Trade and Investment Council is partnering the Africa Union Holdings on this project. The Corridor plans to have 12 Special Economic Zones along its path and will also look to upgrade seaports. The objectives include moving up the value chain and bringing down logistical costs by at least 30%.

DR Congo and South Africa are both members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). This transformative project has the potential bring South Africa and DR Congo closer together economically. It is estimated that the Corridor can triple the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries from USD 1.3 billion to nearly USD 4 billion by 2030.

The Corridor is about 3,100 km in length; it starts at Kipushi near the border with Zambia in southern DRC and finishes at Malela – Banana port near the mouth of the River Congo in western DRC.

Kipushi is famous for being known as the ‘world’s richest copper mine’ when it first opened in 1924. The Corridor seeks to mobilize at least USD 5 billion in #FDI to develop mineral extraction, Local Value Addition (#LVA) and supporting transport infrastructure.