The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is preparing to ride the postrecession wave of direct investment in the country’s economy, particularly in the mining industry.

At the Infrastructure Partner-ships for African Development (iPAD) DRC conference, conference director Nicole Smith said that the country is ready for investment and eager to rectify past mistakes.

“As the global economy begins to resuscitate, the mining sector follows in stride. The DRC witnessed more than $9-billion of investment on behalf of China during the first half of 2009, with capital scheduled to be injected into both mining operations and infrastructure,” Smith said, adding that, although production in the mining sector had suffered directly as a result of the global economic downturn and consequent decline in demand for minerals, the forecast for the DRC was looking positive for a full 
revival of this sector with renewed
opportunity to form public–private partnerships for exploration, extraction and production.

She added that iPAD DRC has become the largest yearly forum in the DRC to explore strategies for infrastructure development in the mining, power, transport, banking and telecommunication sectors. The conference and 
exhibition is the only international business-to-business forum in the DRC for government and business to meet and explore 
opportunities for developing and investing in the infrastructure of the country, specifically, and in the region, in general.

“Since its inauguration five years ago, iPAD DRC has witnessed increased flows of capital into the DRC, despite so-called risks and the current economic downturn, which has affected the mining sector and commodities like copper and diamonds. In 
the meantime, we have seen 
increased investment into sectors like energy, transport, and communications. Now that the transition to a peacetime economy is getting under way, as a result of the commitment to growing stability in regions like North Kivu and South Kivu, there is rejuvenated investor enthusiasm,” she asserted.

Panel discussions at iPAD DRC included strategies for the mining sector to integrate the economy of the DRC and to manage the perspective of a high-risk environment; a precise look at the politics of electricity in the DRC; the introduction of new legislation; and the means of improving the political and economic perception of the country on a global scale.

The high-level programme also included a visit to the Inga I and Inga II hydroelectricity plants in the Bas-Congo province.