The UK’s development finance arm, British International Investment (BII), has joined Dubai-headquartered terminal operator DP World with a capital injection directed towards the development of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first deepwater container port. BII has committed to investing up to $35m in DP World’s infrastructure build at the Port of Banana following similar partnerships between the two companies in Senegal, Egypt and Somaliland. As with the other ports in the partnership, BII will be a minority investor in the new port. With a draft of 17.5m, the Port of Banana will be fit to receive large containerships and become the single gateway for imports and exports of containers in the DRC. These efficiencies are expected to cut the cost of trade in the DRC by 12%, 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 centres. The UK Minister for Africa, Lord Collins of Highbury, said: “This investment from BII will help transform DRC’s economy, establishing the country as a major trading hub on the continent, and providing a significant boost to local sectors from infrastructure, logistics and green energy.” googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsCongo United Kindgom