DRC: Companies Invited to Develop an Economic Zone near the Port of Banana (Minister in charge of Foreign Trade)

Kinshasa, February 24^th, 2026 (CPA) – International companies were invited on Monday by the Minister of Foreign Trade during a meeting in Kinshasa to invest around the Banana port in Kongo Central in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the first phase of the project is set to conclude by the end of 2026, according to a statement reviewed by CPA on Tuesday. “The Minister in charge of Trade reassured the CEO of Phoenix LLC, Mr. Iqbal Meer Sharma, about the consolidation of the improving business climate in the DRC, while encouraging this company and its partner, the Special Agency for Development Support (ASAD), to develop a special economic zone around the deep-water Port of Banana in Kongo Central, as the first phase of this project is expected to finish by the end of 2026, with the docking of the first large ships carrying containers,” the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Trade read. According to the source, Phoenix LLC, which specializes in mining, energy, special economic zones, and digital technologies, engaged with Julien Paluku, the Minister in charge of Foreign Trade, expressing their interest in the business opportunities offered by the DRC. In this regard, the minister urged these companies to join the large project surrounding the battery and electric vehicle industry that the DRC is developing in the Special Economic Zones of Kinsevere in Haut-Katanga and Musompo in Lualaba. The minister also informed his guests about the opportunities offered by markets accessed by the DRC, notably the Chinese, American (under AGOA), Emirati, and British markets, where many products made in the DRC are exempt from customs duties. Furthermore, the source reported that the minister announced during the same day the upcoming organization of a Forum on “Cobalt Valorization” in the DRC in the coming months, supported by the International Trade Centre (ITC), whose delegation, composed of Hernan Manson from the ITC and Dénis Lecouturier, General Director of the Congolese Battery Council (CCB), participated in a technical meeting with two senior advisors of the Prime Minister, Judith Suminwa.