The 11th Edition of the Expo-Beton Forum 2026 was held in Kalemie, Tanganyika Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, under the high patronage of the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, His Excellency Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, represented on this occasion by the Honourable Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, President of the Senate of the DRC.
The Forum also brought together the Governor of Tanganyika Province, the Regional Commissioner of Kigoma Region in the United Republic of Tanzania, Ambassador Simon Sirro, senior Tanzanian Government officials, national and provincial authorities from the Democratic Republic of Congo, development partners, investors, private sector operators, as well as key stakeholders involved in infrastructure development and regional trade.
During the Forum, the Executive Secretary of the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA), Advocate Flory Okandju Okonge, participated in the Panel on the State of Multimodal Infrastructure in Tanganyika under the theme: “The Central Corridor and its Impact on the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary commended the efforts of Expo-Beton and its President, Honourable Jean Bamanisa, for establishing such an important strategic platform that brings together public and private sector stakeholders to advance infrastructure development, regional integration, and economic transformation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He emphasized that Expo-Beton has become a major platform for promoting investment opportunities and shaping discussions on the future of infrastructure development in the DRC and the Great Lakes Region.
The Executive Secretary further highlighted the strategic role of the Central Corridor as an integrated multimodal transport platform linking the Port of Dar es Salaam to hinterland countries, particularly the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia through road, railway, lake, air, and port transport systems.
He noted that the Democratic Republic of Congo remains the largest user of the Central Corridor and the biggest cargo-generating market utilizing the Port of Dar es Salaam. According to the statistics presented, close to 6 million tonnes of cargo destined for the DRC passed through the Port of Dar es Salaam during the 2024/2025 financial year, representing nearly 60 percent of the total transit traffic handled by the port.
The Executive Secretary also highlighted the significant progress achieved under the bilateral cooperation framework between Tanzania and the DRC following the signing of the historic Memorandum of Understanding on transport infrastructure development in July 2022 in Kalemie.
Among the key projects highlighted were:
Regarding lake transport, Advocate Flory Okandju Okongepraised the efforts undertaken by both the Tanzania Shipping Company Limited (TASHICO) and the Government of the DRC in rehabilitating and modernizing their respective fleets to strengthen trade and transport connectivity across Lake Tanganyika.
The Executive Secretary further stressed the importance of accelerating financing for strategic infrastructure projects, strengthening private sector participation, harmonizing trade facilitation policies, and continuing investments in multimodal transport infrastructure to support regional integration and the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Finally, he reaffirmed the commitment of the CCTTFA to continue supporting Member States in promoting efficient, competitive, and integrated transport corridors capable of boosting regional trade, attracting investments, and sustainably improving the livelihoods of African communities.