Chinese Government provides grant for National Institute for Professional Preparation Construction Project

Project narrative

On August 8, 2018, the DRC’s Minister of State in charge of Labor and Employment announced that an effort was underway to conduct a feasibility study of a potential project to construct a vocational training complex for the National Institute for Professional Preparation (INPP) in the city of Kolwezi. Then, on November 7, 2019, the Chinese Government and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the implementation of the National Institute for Professional Preparation Construction Project. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) committed an unknown amount of grant funding for the project. The purpose of the project is to construct and equip an ultramodern vocational center for the National Institute for Professional Preparation (INPP) in the city of Kolwezi within the province of Lualaba. The center will seek to create more skilled labor so that the country does not have to rely heavily on foreign labor from mining companies. Upon completion, the vocational center is expect to provide training in general mechanics, automotive, hydropneumatics, special welding, plumbing, electrical engineering, refrigeration and air conditioning, cutting and sewing, IT, driving heavy machinery, agri-food, building and civil engineering, metal construction, and automobile technical inspection. As of April 2021, preparatory work for the project was still underway. Then, in April 2022, the Chinese Ambassador to the DRC visited the project site.