China begins major road construction in DRC

Three major road projects linking resource-rich regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with its capital Kinshasa have begun as part of a renegotiated minerals-for-infrastructure deal. The deal comes months after Chinese companies agreed to increase infrastructure investment in DRC from US$3 billion to US$7 billion. A statement from President Felix Tshisekedi's office after the groundbreaking ceremony said the Kinshasa ring road was made possible because of the renegotiated deal. Mulengwa Zihindura, president of the Center for Political and Strategic Studies in DRC and a former spokesperson for President Joseph Kabila, tells VOA’s Douglas Mpuga, the project, if well implemented, would be great for the country