In 2025, the government of the Republic of Congo announced the launch of a new project aimed at reducing the risks of erosion and flooding in the country’s two largest cities. The measures are designed to protect residential areas, infrastructure, and agricultural land from the destructive effects of water.
This project is part of the multi-year investment program PEEDU, adopted for the integrated development of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. The funds will be allocated to the construction of drainage systems, the reinforcement of riverbanks, the creation of protective structures, and the revegetation of areas prone to erosion.
For years, soil erosion and floods have destroyed entire neighborhoods in Congolese cities. During the rainy season, streets turned into rivers, houses were flooded, and roads were washed away. Residents lost their belongings, and sometimes their lives. The new program aims to change this situation in a systemic way.
“We are not just patching up the breaches,” they explain at the Ministry of Urban Development. “We are creating long-term protection. These will be modern engineering structures, designed to last for decades.”
Alongside protective measures, the program includes the expansion of water supply and electrification networks, aiming to comprehensively improve the quality of the urban living environment. Work has already begun in the most problematic areas of both capitals.
The initiative is being implemented under the leadership of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, who has repeatedly emphasized the necessity of a systemic approach to urban development and protecting populations from natural risks, as an integral part of the policy to improve citizens’ quality of life.
For residents of riverside and low-lying areas, this means not only construction work, but also peace of mind for their homes and the safety of their families during the rainy season.