Kinshasa, May 6th, 2021 (CPA).– The start of the activities of Kinshasa multisectoral development and urban resilience project (PDMRUK), also called “Kin-Elenda”, is linked to its ratification by Parliament and the signing of the convention by the government, said Pierre Bunduki, temporary coordinator of the infrastructure unit of the Ministry in charge of Infrastructure, Public Works, during an interview on Wednesday with a journalist from CPA.
This project is 100% prepared with the support of the World Bank and its field of action is in Kinshasa city, in particular in the watershed part of N’djili river basin, namely the municipalities of N’djili, Matete, Kisenso, Lemba and part of the municipality of Kimbaseke. Outside this area, the project envisages the construction of a water treatment plant in the municipality of Ngaliema, a training center for the National Institute for Vocational Preparation (INPP) in Maluku, a training center technical landfill in Mpasa, in N’sele municipality, faecal sludge treatment stations on the sites of the Agricultural Technical Institute in Mombele and the University of Kinshasa as well as the construction of a building for Kinshasa City Hall services.
The activities of the first phase of the project, which are spread over a period of five years, are funded to the tune of USD 500 million, half of which (250 million) as a grant and the other half as a repayable loan.
It is steered by a strategic orientation committee co-chaired by the ministries in charge of Town Planning and Housing and that of Infrastructure and Public Works. The operational steering committee will be set up with a mandate to oversee the implementation of the project, in order to ensure coordination between stakeholders.
In this context, the Infrastructures unit assumes overall responsibility for the coordination and fiduciary management of the project. According to a protocol signed in December 2019 with the implementing agencies, a framework and the respective roles of the implementation unit are assigned to REGIDESO water projects (CEP-O) for the water and sanitation components; to the project coordination and management unit of the Ministry in charge of Water Resources and Electricity for the energy component and to INPP for the skills development component. The urban development unit of Kinshasa city (CDUK) is responsible for the inclusive and resilient community’s component.
Project’s objectives
The implementation of this project aims to contribute, within the limits of its envelope and the area of intervention, to improving the capacity of Kinshasa city to offer its residents the necessary basic services and to cope hazards of all kinds, namely floods, erosion, landslides or any kind of natural disaster.
The project also aims to improve institutional capacity in urban management, access to basic infrastructure and economic opportunities in Kinshasa.
The components of PDMRUK
The source notes that PDMRUK has in its formulation, four components namely, resilient infrastructure and services; inclusive and resilient communities; project management and conditional emergency response mechanisms.
Regarding the infrastructure component, the source specifies that it relates to the sub-component realization of basic services at the city level and improvement of neighborhoods.
This first sub-component is concerned with resilient water supply, sanitation, solid waste management and the resilience of energy infrastructure and services.
However, the second sub-component improvement of neighborhoods focuses on activities related to mobility and urban roads, flood risk mitigation and erosion control through the construction of infrastructure and development of public spaces and local infrastructure, such as playgrounds.
With regard to the services to inclusive and resilient communities of the infrastructure and resilient services sub-component, the latter intends to carry out social-economic inclusion activities, urban development and land management as well as local governance.
In view of the importance of the activities included in the project and the cost they may entail as well as their impact on the population, the Infrastructure unit stressed that the project can be rescheduled once or twice. ACP /