A consortium of major South African financial institutions and private equity firms, including Standard Bank and Nedbank, is investing $600 million to build a dry port in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project, led by concession holder Yellowstone, aims to ease severe congestion on a vital mineral export corridor used for copper and cobalt. The port will move 1,500 trucks daily, transporting minerals to Durban or Maputo and cutting clearance times at the Kasumbalesa border from six days to four hours. The project, structured on a user-pay principle and revenue-sharing model, aims to boost intra-African trade and strengthen regional infrastructure while aligning with broader improvements in the Southern African Development Community’s logistics ecosystem. The development also reflects the strategic competition for resource logistics, as the US and China pursue their own parallel corridors to transport Congo’s critical minerals.
Bloomberg
