The Republic of Congo says it plans to mobilise $2.031 billion to expand electricity access and drive industrial transformation. Prime Minister Anatole Makosso disclosed this at the Congo Investment Day at the 2026 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group in Brazzaville.

Mr Makosso said the National Energy Compact, which aligned with Mission 300, would support agriculture, industry, transport and digital transformation in the country.

He said Congo was positioning itself as Central Africa’s multimodal gateway through investments in maritime, rail, river, road and air transport infrastructure.

According to him, projects such as the Brazzaville-Kinshasa road-rail bridge and regional transport corridors will strengthen trade and regional integration.

Mr Makosso also said Congo was investing in data centres, fibre optics and digital payment systems to build digital sovereignty in the sub-region.

Solomon Quaynor, AfDB vice-president for the private sector, infrastructure and industrialisation, said Africa faced an annual infrastructure financing gap of $70 billion to $110 billion.

Mr Quaynor said transport corridors and multimodal systems were essential for trade, mobility, regional value chains and the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area. He described Congo as strategically positioned to become an energy and logistics hub due to its hydro resources, gas reserves and transport network.

The AfDB official said the bank financed about 30 corridor projects worth $7 billion dollars between 2022 and 2024 across Africa. He added that the AfDB also supported preparatory studies for the Brazzaville-Kinshasa bridge project signed in February 2026.

Mr Quaynor called for innovative financing tools, including public-private partnerships, green bonds and blended finance, to close Africa’s infrastructure gap.

(NAN)