THE QII PRINCIPLES IN ACTION DRC Kinshasa’s path towards resilient urban development With Kinshasa facing infrastructure and social exclusion challenges, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) partnered with the World Bank on the Kinshasa Multisector Development QII.1 QII.2 and Urban Resilience Project (dubbed Kin Elenda in the local language, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC meaning “resilient Kinshasa”). This initiative enhances living conditions GROWTH EFFICIENCY by improving transport, urban services, and infrastructure resilience. Supported by a grant from the QII Partnership, the project employed QII.3 flood risk mapping and resilient infrastructure development. It also ENVIRONMENT leveraged Japanese expertise in urban transport. As a result, the municipal government is better positioned to manage climate risks, QII.4 QII.5 develop robust, resilient infrastructure, and prioritize infrastructure RESILIENCE SOCIAL investment opportunities. THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE Kinshasa, the rapidly expanding capital of the DRC, is on track to become Africa’s largest megacity by 2030. However, it grapples with significant development hurdles, poor transport infrastructure, inefficient urban management, and social exclusion. In 2015, the government approved the Strategic Urban Plan (SOSAK) to improve institutional capacity for urban management and facilitate better urban development. SOSAK prioritizes investments in mobility, resilient infrastructure, and governance. To further this plan, the DRC government collaborated with the World Bank to devise a comprehensive blueprint combining policy reforms, strategies, and investments for Kinshasa’s sustainable development. PROJECT OVERVIEW The World Bank-funded Kinshasa Urban Development and Resilience Project aligns with the DRC government’s ambition to transform Kinshasa into a livable, resilient, and effectively managed city. The five-year project, launched in 2021, aims to enhance living conditions in vulnerable neighborhoods by improving access to transport, essential urban services, and resilient infrastructure through capital investment, JapanGov JUNE 2023 The Government of Japan technical assistance, and institutional capacity building maximize benefits compared to single-purpose solutions. in urban management for municipal officials. It also conducted studies to identify investment options A QII Partnership grant supported the project by for resilient urban infrastructure that consider environ- financing a technical analysis of the natural hazard risks mental and social factors (QII Principles 3 and 5). These in Kinshasa that hinder economic development and studies enhanced the understanding of hydrology in providing guidance on managing infrastructure invest- the N’Djili watershed under climate change conditions, ments. Its objectives were to improve urban resilience allowing for safer infrastructure designs that are better and connectivity with an emphasis on reaching the prepared for extreme weather and climate events. It also socially excluded population, deepen the understanding identified flood and erosion risk reduction measures to of climate and disaster risks in selected neighborhoods increase the safety of secondary and tertiary road along the N’Djili River watershed, develop investment networks, which will benefit from improved drainage options for integrated resilient infrastructure, and prior- and solid waste management solutions. itize robust and resilient infrastructure investment options. QII Principle 4, building resilience against natural disas- In collaboration with the World Bank’s Open Cities ters, was also addressed by enhancing the resilience initiative, implemented by the Global Facility for Disaster of infrastructure assets in selected Kinshasa neighbor- Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the QII grant-funded hoods against disaster risks. By incorporating resilience activities included flood risk mapping, developing resilient into integrated infrastructure investments, the activity infrastructure options, creating a prioritization frame- improved urban risk management, promoted economic work for urban infrastructure investments, and develop- opportunities, and enhanced connectivity. ing guidelines for designing resilient and climate-proof infrastructure systems. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Works in Kinshasa adopted its recommendations. EXPECTED OUTCOMES TAPPING INTO JAPANESE EXPERTISE • The municipal government will have greater capacity for collecting and analyzing data. It better The grant leverages extensive studies and data produced understands flood and erosion risks, particularly in by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the N’Djili watershed and surrounding communes. a comprehensive urban transport plan in Kinshasa. The It will also be better able to develop integrated World Bank-financed project collaborates closely with urban resilience investment options at the neigh- JICA and utilizes Japanese expertise in urban transport borhood level, such as roads, drainage, flood and and development. erosion management, and waste management. Knowledge sharing will be strengthened through the • Locally adapted guidelines for designing robust, World Bank Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Hub climate-proof integrated infrastructure systems that in Tokyo, Japan. The Japan-World Bank Program for support risk mitigation efforts, incorporate disaster Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Developing and climate risk in infrastructure investments, and Countries supports technical assistance, pilot projects, design integrated resilient urban infrastructure thematic initiatives, knowledge mobilization, and systems will be developed. capacity building. • Urban infrastructure investments will be more effectively prioritized to maximize benefits to the APPLYING THE QII PRINCIPLES city’s population. The project supports the application of the QII Principles • The outputs of the activities funded by the QII in numerous ways. First, it maximized the positive impact Partnership were adopted by the Ministry of of infrastructure (QII Principle 1) and promoted econom- Infrastructure and Public Works and influenced ic efficiency (QII Principle 2) by proposing solutions for two World Bank-financed Operations that address enhancing the resilience of infrastructure investments flood and erosion and urban resilience in Kinshasa. such as roads, drainage, flood management, and waste. Integrated infrastructure systems decrease costs and The World Bank Group and the government of Japan established the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) Partnership to raise awareness and scale-up quality infrastructure investment aligned to G20 QII Principles in developing countries. The QII Partnership is managed by the Infrastructure Finance, PPPs & Guarantees (IPG) group within the World Bank Group. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org/QII or follow us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/qii-partnership.