INDUSTRY

I. Potentials

DR Congo has several potentialities to develop its industrial sector, namely :

1. Abundant and cheap labor ;
2. Diversity of raw materials (wood, oil, minerals, quartz, etc.), conducive to the development of the national industrial fabric ;
3. Overall market of over 70 million potential consumers, extendable to the subregional level ;
4. Existence of 80 million hectares of arable land conducive to the development of agribusiness ;
5. Existence of a significant market share in the various industrial sectors ;
6. The implementation of the Inga 3 Power plant, of Kakobola, Zongo II and Katende, is a major asset to boost the volume of existing production and promote the attraction of new investments in the country.

II. Achievement

• Establishment of the pilot Special Economic Zone of Maluku ;

• Launch of growth Pool project at Kimpese, 130 Km away from east of Matadi (Bas-Congo). This is a World Bank project designed to finance the agricultural sector and road infrastructure in the DRC. Its cost is estimated at over 110 million US dollars for the whole country, of which 48 million for farmers in the province of Bas-Congo. It is about helping farmers to increase agricultural production.

• Launching activities of the pilot agro industrial park.of BUKANGA LONZO.

III. Vision

 Industry is one of the Government’s priority sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, energy, health, education, housing, hydrocarbons, etc. In its vision, the Government adopted a development approach called "self-centered and integrated," consisting in a balanced deployment of economic and industrial growth poles.

This approach relies on the ability to develop, based on comparative and competitive advantages of each economic area of processing and manufacturing industries, especially in the agro-industrial sectors, enhancement of natural resources and structuring or industrializing industries.

The development strategy of the industrial sector is mainly focused on the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZ), agro-industrial parks and growth poles.

IV. Legal framework

- Law No. 14/022 of 7 July 2014 establishing a system of special economic zones (SEZ) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

This Law has the following objectives :

• Improve the legal and institutional framework to attract and safeguard national and foreign private investment in order to promote the country’s development ;

• Simplify administrative procedures to further improve the business climate and attract investment ;

• Strengthen dispute settlement mechanisms related to investments ;

• Provide an incentive business environment, transparent and consistent in order to encourage national and foreign private investment which will generate growth and employment and increase competition in the Democratic Republic of Congo ;

• Setting the rules of organization and functioning of special economic zones, their missions and their limits ;

• Determine the supervision powers of the Agency for Special Economic Zones, including its exclusive and private skills ;

• Clarify the rules applicable to companies that can operate in special economic zones, except with respect to tax and customs arrangements to be set out in the Finance Act.

- Law n ° 14/023 of 7 July 2014 setting the rules on the terms and conditions of rescuing the ailing industrial company.

The provisions of this Act apply to any industrial enterprise in difficulty following the exogenous factors and subject to a procedure either of a preventive law, or receivership.

The industrial company in difficulty is eligible for benefits under section 9 of this Act, subject to the prerequisite of collective proceedings of preventive settlement or bankruptcy to :

• Ensure the direct and indirect employment ;
• Promoting local raw materials ;
• Ensuring fiscal contribution to revenue of the central government, provincial and regional and local entities ;
• Ensure the maintenance of socio-economic impacts on the local and national environment.

Any industrial company in difficulty wishing to benefit from the advantages provided for in Article 9 of this Act shall, to this end, submit, at the opening or after the opening of the insolvency proceedings, at the latest before the preventive or remedial concordat, a grant application to the National Agency for Investment Promotion.