Kinshasa, June 11th, 2025 (CPA).- An airport, a state-of-the-art hospital, and an interchange—projects of vital importance to the mining province of Lualaba in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo—have been inaugurated on Wednesday by President Felix Tshisekedi during a ceremony broadcast on public television. These include the airport terminal, the modern Lualaba clinic, the Kolwezi interchange, and a fire station. « These infrastructures (have been) built in a context of aggression against our national territory. These projects are part of the 2024-2028 priority investment program under pillar 4 relating to infrastructure and land use planning, » has declared Fifi Masuka, Governor of Lualaba Province, referring in particular to the road interchange, a masterpiece of engineering. It consists, she has said, 0f “a 2.5 km long asphalt road, 2 x 2 lanes 14.5 m wide, with a concrete divider in the middle, two bridges 58 meters long on the RN39 and 27 meters long on the railway line with a load capacity of 40 tons, street lighting and a green area. »
The Lualaba interchange
Fifi Masuka has explained in her presentation of the Kolwezi airport terminal that, with a built area of nearly 10,000 square meters, the two-level terminal “symbolizes the opening of the city of Kolwezi to the world” and includes two separate wings for domestic and international flights, a VIP lounge, two satellite arms, and other conveniences. “This project complies with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, capable of handling heavy air traffic, supports the province’s economic growth, and supports the mining industry, which is vital to the DRC,” she has indicated. The third project inaugurated by the Head of State alongside his wife and provincial and national dignitaries has been the fire station, which aims to ensure the safety of facilities and passengers. “The new fire station, built on more than 1,000 m2, includes an administrative module with a control tower, a module dedicated to the garage, and a module dedicated to living space and other facilities,” has explained the Governor, impressing her colleagues present in Kolwezi for the 11th Conference of Governors of the country. Speaking at the event, Jean-Pierre Bemba, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Transport, has explained that Kolwezi Airport, which is a real air hub, symbolizes the government’s commitment to improve the connectivity, to promote access, and foster economic development in the province of Lualaba. “We are not only celebrating the completion of a major project, but we are also laying a cornerstone for the future of this mining province of our country. What we are experiencing today in Kolwezi must be replicated throughout the country,” he has wished. Earlier, the Head of State had inaugurated a modern clinic built in the chief town of the cobalt province.
A view of the modern clinic in Lualaba
« Do we still have to go abroad for general or specialized surgery? No. Do we still have to leave Kolwezi for an accurate diagnosis or modern treatment of cardiovascular diseases, urological disorders, or musculoskeletal infections? No. From now on, the inhabitants of this province and beyond can receive care here, at the modern clinic in Kolwezi, » has declared Dr. Roger Kamba, Minister in charge of Public Health, in his speech. According to Minister Kamba, this hospital is in line with the Head of State’s vision of providing the Republic with several modern infrastructures “in order to build a resilient, accessible, efficient health system capable of meeting the needs of all, without exception.” Bolstered by Felix Tshisekedi’s determination, which has been implemented in the country’s various provinces by the political and administrative authorities, the minister has in this frame, lined the overall situation in his sector in terms of infrastructure construction, while noting that “the challenges remain immense, despite the positive results achieved” so far. « Over the past five years, here in Kolwezi, in North Lualaba, as elsewhere, health facilities have been built or renovated in numbers well above the average recorded over the past 40 years. But building is not enough. Today, these facilities are being equipped, modernized, and connected to innovation and contemporary medical practice, or have already been, » he has concluded.