British International Investment (BII), the United Kingdom’s development finance institution and impact investor, has committed to invest up to $35 million alongside DP World into phase one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) first deepwater container port.
The Port of Banana will receive large container vessels from around the globe and is expected to become the single gateway for imports and exports of containers in the DRC. These efficiencies are expected to cut the cost of trade in DRC by 12 percent. Its development will enable approximately $1.12 billion in additional trade and $429 million in increased economic outlook, according to an evaluation commissioned by BII.
The port is being developed in multiple phases, and its capacity is expected to gradually increase over time. It will be connected to a network of additional infrastructure, including a free zone and multimodal logistics infrastructure to the country’s largest urban centers.