Chinese contractors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kicked off an upgrade of National Route 1 (RN1), arguably the country’s most important highway. It begins in the capital Kinshasa in the far West and snakes 2,000+ kilometers to the southern hub of Lubumbashi.

The China Jiangxi company announced that it would be refurbishing only a small 96-kilometer portion of the highway from Kinshasa to Batshamba. The project is part of a larger $32 million agreement with two other Chinese contractors, Sinohydro and China First Highway Engineering Company, to upgrade different sections of RN1.