THE Democratic Republic of Congo is setting up a centralised agency to fast-track major mining investments, said Reuters citing sources.
The agency is part of reforms tied to its minerals partnership with the US and aimed at drawing more Western capital into a sector still dominated by Chinese companies, the newswire said.
Congo, the world’s top cobalt producer and second-biggest copper producer, sits at the heart of a global scramble for critical minerals needed for the energy transition and advanced manufacturing.
China, the US and the European Union have all signed minerals agreements with Kinshasa, said Reuters. The minerals partnership with the US has already produced a Washington-backed investment through Virtus Minerals and lifted Congolese copper sales to American and European buyers.
The new one-stop agency would be open to Chinese, American and European investors alike, said Reuers.
Led by the finance and economy ministries, the reform would consolidate company registration, licensing, taxation and compliance for major projects, cutting approval timelines that can currently stretch for months.
It would initially target joint ventures worth more than $1bn operating under special fiscal terms, such as the Chinese-backed Sicomines copper and cobalt venture, one official said, adding that enabling legislation still needs to be signed into law.
“The one-stop shop is intended to cut through the bureaucratic silos that have long complicated mining investment in Congo,” said Eric Ndeh of civil society group Afrewatch, who expects it operational this year. Congo maintains its Western outreach is meant to diversify, not replace, Chinese investment.
