Kolwezi Bypass Toll Road Project Due Diligence

The City of Kolwezi, capital of Lualaba Province in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is an important mining centre for copper and cobalt (it lies on the richest seam of the region’s immensely endowed Copperbelt). Approximately 220 000 trucks of freight traffic travelling through the Kolwezi city centre per annum.

The Lualaba Government decided to relieve the traffic situation by implementing the new Kolwezi by-pass road as a BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) project.

A special purpose company “Société de Péage du Lualaba” (SOPEL) will own and operate the new by-pass toll road under a 25-year concession agreement with the Lualaba Province. Groupe Forrest, the Private Partner in SOPEL, was selected to develop, finance, build, and operate the new 26 km Kolwezi City By-Pass Toll Road and to ensure that the new road is well maintained.

Phase I of the project has a total investment of approximately USD45m and shall be repaid through toll road fees payable by the transport and mining companies for the usage of the by-pass road.

Phase II of the project was scheduled to be completed by March 2022. Bayswater Capital Partners and AIL Structured Finance have been appointed by Groupe Forrest as Financial Advisor to arrange the Senior Debt Facility of up to USD 27 millions to:

• Refinance the interim financing of Phase I;
• Finance Phase II and to finalize the Project.