Congo demands $17 bln more in infrastructure investments from China deal

Congo’s state auditor has demanded an additional $17 billion of investments from a 2008 infrastructure-for-minerals deal with Chinese investors that is currently being renegotiated, a report seen by Reuters showed.
China’s embassy in Congo on Friday said that it was shocked by the state auditor’s report, calling it “full of prejudice” and not corresponding to reality.
President Felix Tshisekedi’s government has been revisiting the deal struck by his predecessor Joseph Kabila under which Sinohydro Corp and China Railway Group Limited agreed to build roads and hospitals in exchange for a 68% stake in Sicomines, a cobalt and copper joint venture with Congo’s state mining company Gecamines.
Under the Sicomines deal, the Chinese investors committed to spending $3 billion on infrastructure projects, but the state auditor – Inspection Generale des Finances (IGF) – demanded that commitment be increased to $20 billion, to reflect the value of the mining concessions that Gecamines contributed to the deal.