Kinshasa, June 9th, 2026 (CPA).- The structural projects to acquire a sovereign satellite for the Democratic Republic of Congo have been at the centre of discussions on Monday in Kinshasa between the Minister in charge of ICT and Postal Services and two Chinese firms, Unicom and Genew Technologies, according to a press release consulted on Tuesday by CPA. “We have discussed with the heads of these two Chinese firms, China Unicom and Genew Technologies, about the construction of this sovereign satellite and the roll-out of the fibre optic network across the entire national territory,” it is read. According to the document, three objectives have been pursued, notably the technical and financial structuring.
On this issue, the aim is to validate the technical architecture of two projects, estimate the costs and finalise the financing arrangements with the Ministry in charge of Planning and the Ministry in charge of Finance, the document has reported, whilst adding the institutional consultation and alignment.
With regard to the preparation of the due diligence in China and the next steps, we need to define the scope and the schedule, identify the Congolese delegates and the sites to be visited, produce the deliverables before departure, and identify the steps that will follow. According to the document, the minister expects four outcomes from these discussions, namely the validation of technical solutions, the finalisation of the financing approach, the alignment of stakeholders; and the planning of the due diligence mission. Let us remember that the sovereign satellite project has been signed last April, as was the national fibre-optic backbone, whilst the revision of the agreements has been carried out in 2025.
The Congolese institutions involved in this project are the Presidency of the Republic, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry in charge of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry in charge of Planning, the Ministry in charge of Finance, the Ministry in charge of Infrastructure, the Ministry in charge of Mines and the National Cyber Defence Council (CNC), with the following technical entities: the General Secretariat of PTNTIC, the Congolese Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, (ARPTC), the Congolese Fibre Company (SOCOF), the National Satellite Telecommunications Network (RENATELSAT) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (CNT).