Three years after its media-launched debut, the urban cable car transportation project in Kinshasa seems frozen in time. No visible construction site, no concrete progress. A look back at a suspended promise.
Announced with great fanfare in 2022, the cable transport project was meant to mark a turning point in urban mobility in Kinshasa. Backed by the Congolese government with technical support from Austrian manufacturer Doppelmayr, it planned the construction of two aerial lines aimed at relieving congestion in the capital:
– A first line connecting Ndjili Airport to downtown (City Hall),
– A second line linking Mont-Amba to UPN, via Rond-point Victoire.
The objective: to open up working-class neighborhoods, facilitate daily commuting, and offer an innovative alternative to the city’s chronic traffic jams.
Radio Silence and Empty Sites
Since the announcement, no official communication has followed. On the ground, nothing is moving: no construction site, no foundation, no pylons, no stations. The targeted zones have seen no preparatory work, no compensation processes, no community meetings.
Despite being valued at over $60 million, the project appears to have vanished, much like other initiatives launched without a clear roadmap.
A Project Undermined by Lack of Oversight
According to several sources close to the matter, funding was never finalized. The feasibility studies, essential for a project of this magnitude, were reportedly never completed, and technical partners are still awaiting government guarantees.
This is compounded by structural constraints:
– The absence of a clear legal framework for public-private partnerships,
– Blurred governance between the central government and the province of Kinshasa,
– Difficulties in clearing land in densely populated neighborhoods.
Another Disappointment?
The cable car case reinforces the growing skepticism among Kinshasa’s residents. It is not the first project to be announced with excitement only to vanish into oblivion. In an urban context where basic infrastructure needs are still glaring, the population is waiting for concrete, sustainable, and achievable solutions—not spectacular promises with no follow-up.
What Now?
To date, the government has neither confirmed the abandonment of the project nor proposed a new timeline. Meanwhile, Kinshasa continues to choke on traffic as the cable cars remain… stationary.
Rédaction
