In Kinshasa, the urbanization in query within the floods | EUROtoday
SAudi June 14, Kinshasa was overwhelmed by a torrential rain, within the coronary heart of the dry season. The streets have become muddy torrents, the districts of enormous swamps. The outcomes are heavy: 19 useless, together with 17 in Ngaliema, 2 in Lemba, and greater than 500 households drowned in Matete. A tragedy which is added to that of the earlier month, when 6 kids had perished in Selembao, buried beneath a collapsed wall.
These now common disasters reveal the failure of a metropolis out of breath. Anarchic urbanization, obstructed evacuation channels, lack of emergency plan: so many structural failures that expose the inhabitants to every heavy rain. The authorities invoke an “exceptional phenomenon”, pointing floods because of the rivers swollen by the rains of the central Congo. But for the inhabitants, weariness is palpable: every flood feels like a painful rehearsal, with out actual assist or lasting resolution. “Whenever there is a flood, we start again from the start,” mentioned Phalonne Ngoy in May, crossed in entrance of his partially cleaned home. “We wipe what we can recover: a few clothes, utensils, one or two chairs. And then we decide either to stay or to leave, if we have the means. But leaving is not always easy. “A few meters away, another resident, seated in front of what was left of his living room, also expressed his dismay under the cover of anonymity:” The authorities do not help us. Sometimes they tell us where to go, but these places are often in disorder, poorly organized, and we cannot settle there in good conditions. They pass, make us promises, but in the end, nothing materializes. Each year, it’s the same story: we undergo the floods, alone, without real support. »»
With more than 17 million inhabitants, Kinshasa suffers from insufficient infrastructure in the face of its explosive growth. In 2024, more than 11,000 households have already been affected.
Drifts of urbanization at the heart of Kinshasa’s vulnerability
Kinshasa, originally a simple village established on a relief of hills, trays and valleys, has seen its population grow dramatically over the decades. Formerly spared from seasonal floods, because it is not very dense and located outside the flooding areas, the capital gradually expanded in a disorderly manner. Wonderful districts have emerged without respecting town planning rules, often on non -serviced land, exposed to climatic hazards.
For the urban planner Justin Luseyi, this anarchic expansion is at the heart of the current vulnerability: “Kinshasa suffers from mismanagement of rainwater, an unplanned soil occupation, the proliferation of waste in the drainage channels, and excessive waterproofing of the soil. He also evokes deforestation, lack of strategy for waste, and the violation of urban planning standards as so many aggravating factors. “Twenty rivers have lost up to 60 % of their bed because of the constructions. The city is in a bowl, and the wetlands are massively occupied, ”he additionally stresses, pointing to socio-spatial inequalities, notably seen in precarious neighborhoods.
These areas, usually near the rivers, welcome essentially the most susceptible populations. Land is acquired exterior of any authorized framework, and constructions escape security requirements. According to Crispin Mbadu Phanzu, not too long ago appointed Minister of Town Planning and Housing, this uncontrolled urbanization in threat areas, mixed with poor waste administration, feeds floods by runoff.
Emergency city planning: demolitions, cleansing and 6 -month moratorium
Faced with these challenges, the authorities are attempting to react. Cadnets’ cleansing campaigns, demolition of unlawful constructions and cleansing of rivers have been launched. A six -month moratorium is granted to residents of harmful areas earlier than the demolition introduced. “Those who have built on non -Aedificandi areas must prepare. Beyond the deadline, the government will take place, ”warns Patrician Ngongo, provincial minister of well being and coordinator of the disaster unit.
But these measures remain insufficient. Repeated floods are not only the consequence of climate change, but the fruit of sixty years of disorderly urban growth. To try to remedy this, the government launched the KIA Mona project: an ambitious urban extension of 900 hectares intended to create a modern, sustainable and resilient city.
“Kinshasa suffocates with its greater than 15 million inhabitants, when it had been designed for one million,” recalls Thierry Katembwe, project coordinator. “If we do nothing, the disasters will be much worse in five years. Kia Mona provides for the construction of 650,000 dwellings to accommodate up to 5 million inhabitants, with modern infrastructure, effective drainage networks and industrial, agricultural and residential areas planned.
For Katembwe, this extension aims to “construction development” and unclog overcrowded neighborhoods. “Floods are the direct consequence of anarchic occupations, lack of sanitation and the absence of a real development plan. »»
Kia Mona, the bet of a sustainable city to unclog Kinshasa
The success of the project is based on a diversified financial montage, mobilizing public-private partnerships and international investors. Among the actors involved are the Sino-Congolese industrial city (supported by the belt and road initiative), Chanasté Construction, Cino Congo Development, BPI France, TGCC-IDG (Belgium-Maroc), an agro-pastoral Israeli company, an American bank based in London, several development banks as well as Congolese companies such as Kipelo services.
To uncover
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Answer
South African teams like Sten City and Tangos take part within the housing part, whereas MJ Center works on river transport. The challenge might be carried out in a number of phases: the primary, from June 2025 to June 2026, gives for the supply of the primary infrastructure; The second will prolong till 2028, adopted by later phases over eight years.
“We want to build a productive city, with a logistics base, an industrial area, green spaces, an ecological tram and well -structured neighborhoods,” explains Katembwe. He insists on the significance of common membership: “Success will rely on respect for the infrastructure and the engagement of the inhabitants. It is at this value that we are able to construct a greater future. »»
https://www.lepoint.fr/afrique/chaque-annee-on-recommence-a-kinshasa-l-urbanisation-en-cause-dans-les-inondations-16-06-2025-2592108_3826.php