In the heart of Central Africa, the Ubangi River basin, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic, is now the pivot of a profound socio-economic transformation of the region. The DRC supported by the African Development Bank Group, is implementing the Regional Support Programme for the Development of Cross-Border Water Infrastructure and Resources (PREDIRE in the French acronym).
This major initiative, whose Central African component began in 2025, is now entering its active phase in the DRC, marking a decisive step for the stability and shared prosperity of the sub-region.
Since February 16, 2026, the date of the official launch of the national component of the programme in the DRC, the country has resolutely embarked on a process of sustainable transformation. The ambition is twofold: to strengthen regional coherence and integration while providing concrete answers to pressing domestic challenges.
The work in the DRC is using an integrated approach structured around the Water-Food Security-Climate nexus, aimed at transforming natural resources into levers for inclusive growth. The programme is mobilising a total budget of $46.5 million in order to achieve this ambition in the provinces of Nord-Ubangui, Sud-Ubangui and Mongala. The financing is supported by the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the Bank Group, the OPEC Fund and the DRC government counterparty. Targeted action will be deployed to meet the major environmental and socio-economic challenges of these regions.
On the ground, the project will focus on concrete actions to break the cycle of fragility, with particular emphasis on the creation of climate-resilient water infrastructure, which is essential for securing the DRC's National Agricultural Transformation Programme. At the same time, modernisation of the information system along the Ubangi River and improvement of river navigation will aim to streamline trade with the DRC's western neighbours, the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo, thus consolidating the DRC's role as a crossroads for regional integration.
Human impact of the intervention has special importance for the Bank. The majority of the expected 2.4 million direct beneficiaries are women and young people, who are key drivers of the local economy. As well as access to safe drinking water, the programme is targeting the creation of 3400 jobs and specific support for entrepreneurship.
Assisted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the PREDIRE programme is focused on resilience of particularly vulnerable populations. It will directly benefit 25,000 people living in vulnerable areas, as well as strengthening the capacities of more than 1300 institutional and community actors. The effect will be to consolidate the sustainable governance of shared water resources, ensuring that infrastructure development is accompanied by greater social cohesion.
The DRC is acquiring tools for modern governance of water resources under the supervision of the Congolese Ministry of Rural Development, using technical coordination provided by the Project for the Reinforcement of Socio-Economic Infrastructure in the Central Region - Phase II (PRISE II).
"The Support Programme for the Development of Cross-Border Water Infrastructure and Resources is more than a technical programme. It is a historic opportunity to stimulate the rural economy. It will help to profoundly transform rural territories and strengthen their resilience in the face of climate and economic challenges, through structuring investments and the use of an integrated approach," Mr Deo Nsunzu, the project coordinator, stressed.
By aligning itself with the progress made in the Central African Republic since last year, the Democratic Republic of Congo is confirming its determination to make the Ubangi River basin a key part of the development of Central Africa.
