Improving navigation facilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Project description

Project title: Operational technical assistance to the national river management authority
Commissioned by: European Union
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Overall term: 2017 to 2019

Context

Inland navigation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continued under satisfactory conditions until the 1980s and history has shown that these routes can be efficient, economically effective and safe. Due to the unstable situation of the country in recent years, river shipping has become extremely slow, expensive and dangerous. Port infrastructures and inland waterway transport services are in an advanced state of decay.

Furthermore, the capacities of the national river management authority, the Régie des Voies Fluviales (RVF), have deteriorated considerably. As a public enterprise, the RVF is responsible for the development and maintenance of the inland waterways of the DRC. This involves the tasks regarding bathymetry, hydrography and cartography. At present, however, the RVF is unable to guarantee the signage (with shipping markings and tons) or the mapping of waterways.

The underlying challenges of improving navigability in the DRC are enormous, for security and financial reasons. With the implementation of the Fluvial and Lacustrine Navigability Support Project (PANAV), the government aims to restore the safety of inland navigation services and enables their sustainable maintenance.

Objective

The project offers operational and technical assistance to RVF. It supports the development and strengthening of RVF services. The PANAV project is the driving force behind RVF.

Approach

At present, navigation charts are obsolete because of a lack of high-quality data. The project therefore focuses on collecting information on the waterways considered in the project (the Congo and Kasai Rivers).

The collection, evaluation, processing and publication of detailed scientific information (in particular hydraulic and hydrographic data) is crucial for RFV’s contract fulfilment and the planning of future river navigation facilities.

To meet these needs, the programme supports RVF in the acquisition and repair of specific measuring instruments, and also in carrying out hydrological and hydraulic studies. On this basis, the navigation charts are created or updated and the inland waterways are marked. The project also promotes a strengthening of the RVF's personnel capacity, to enable sustainable management of the waterways.

Results

After only a few months, capacities were increased at the data management centre (CTD) of the national river management authority (RVF). The material required for hydrographic and hydrological measurements and investigations has already been made available and is of high quality. CTD employees have achieved a level of training that enables them to actively participate in the project.