The finance for the Congolese-Chinese joint venture has been held up and Kinshasa wants the mining companies to bridge the gap
China is withholding money that is needed to rehabilitate 700 kilometres of railway in Katanga and Kasai, leading the Congolese government to call on mining companies to raise the finance instead. The project to renovate the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Congo, which is backed by the World Bank, was due to receive US$200 million from the $6 billion Chinese mines-for-infrastructure deal (AAC passim). Yet in October, the SNCC was forced to turn to the mining companies in Katanga for finance to complete the $600 mn. project. In exchange, the SNCC is offering reductions on freight charges once the works are finished....
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