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China-Africa relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Is Chinese-controlled copper and cobalt mining joint venture being turned into a political pawn in Congo?

  • DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, a critic of previous deals, will be seeking re-election in December
  • Report from DRC state auditor calls for infrastructure investment to be increased by US$17 billion

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A Sicomines copper and cobalt mine in Kolwezi, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Handout
Jevans Nyabiage

Politics could be at play in the latest falling-out between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chinese companies over a US$6 billion minerals-for-infrastructure deal signed more than a decade ago that Kinshasa says was poorly negotiated and favoured the Chinese side.

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DRC President Felix Tshisekedi will be seeking re-election on December 20, and observers say the DRC government is stepping up pressure on Sicomines, a joint venture by the DRC and Chinese companies, to force the renegotiation of the deal signed in 2008 as part of a plan to use the infrastructure projects as a campaign tool.

The DRC’s General Inspectorate of Finance released a report last week that said the DRC was yet to benefit from the deal.

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China-funded infrastructure across Africa force difficult decisions for its leaders

China-funded infrastructure across Africa force difficult decisions for its leaders

State-owned Congolese commodity trading and mining company Gecamines formed the joint venture with a consortium of Chinese companies led by Sinohydro and China Railway Group to trade infrastructure such as roads and hospitals for copper and cobalt, with the Chinese side taking a 68 per cent stake in Sicomines.

The Chinese companies agreed to invest US$3 billion in DRC infrastructure, funded from the mine’s revenue, and another US$3 billion to develop a copper and cobalt mine.

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