Relief for motorists as Congolese President inaugurates interchange project

President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi concluded the year 2020 with the inauguration of an interchange and flyover that should ease traffic congestion in the megacity of more than 10 million inhabitants.

The interchange spanning busy crossroads in the capital, Kinshasa, is the result of the "100-day emergency program" launched by the Congolese President, shortly after he came to power early 2019.

"As is well known, Kinshasa has serious problems with population growth. That is why, as part of the 100-day program, the president took the initiative to build this infrastructure, which was inaugurated today", said Giscard Kusema, assistant press secretary to the presidency.

The inauguration of the project comes at a time when Kinshasa, one of Africa's most populous capitals, is experiencing constant growth during a curfew imposed by the president in the face of rising Covid-19 cases in the capital.

"It really meets our expectations in a sense that, little by little, Kinshasa is becoming less congested so hence our joy today. And as we have just inaugurated, this is a great moment of joy because we are really going to celebrate, and there won't really be any traffic jams", Serge Malemba, Kinshasa resident said.

These road interchanges and flyover will alleviate traffic problems aggravated by the curfew in Kinshasa, the largest city in this French-speaking African nation. For two years, traffic, already chaotic with the increase in the number of cars over the last fifteen years, was slowed down due to the construction, especially on the road to the airport.