Kiswishi awarded Special Economic Zone status

The Special Economic Zones Agency (SEZA) has granted special economic zone status to Kiswishi, the new city development in Lubumbashi, making it the first private sector Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The announcement was made by the Ministry of Industry, which oversees the country’s SEZ through SEZA.

Kiswishi SEZ benefits include five-years’ renewable exemption of Corporate Income Tax, Minimum Tax, Personal Income Tax, Land Tax, Rental Income Tax, VAT and Customs Duties and Taxes. Additional benefits include a reduction of the Special Tax on expatriate salaries (from 25% to 15%), a 50% reduction in parafiscal taxes and no forex restrictions.

Kiswishi is owned and developed by Rendeavour, the largest new city builder in Africa, with more than 12,000 hectares of developments in DRC, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.

Lubumbashi, with an estimated metro area population is of 2.5 million and growing at more than 4% per year, is ranked among the 30 fastest-growing cities in the world.