The DRC has secured US$500 million in funding to help its capital Kinshasa build back better after COVID-19.

The Kinshasa multi-sectoral development and urban resilience project – known as Kin Elenda (‘sustainable and resilient Kinshasa’) – involves improving access to essential services such as water, sanitation, solid waste and energy in the city, which has a population of 17 million, reports Afrik21.

New climate-resilient infrastructure will encompass water-treatment plants, sludge-treatment facilities, an upgraded water-supply network and a new landfill. As far as energy is concerned, the project will include building a transfer station, developing off-grid electricity facilities and improving street lighting.

The financing – approved by the World Bank and provided through the bank’s subsidiary, the International Development Association – includes a credit and a grant of US$250 million each.

The bank says more than 2 million people from the city’s most vulnerable neighbourhoods will benefit directly from improved services, including household water connections, reduced exposure to flooding and green urban spaces in the Kisenso, Ndjili, Matete and Lemba areas.

20 April 2021
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