Bridge collapse cuts DRC's main copper export route to Zambia

The Kakoso bridge between Chingola and Chililabombwe failed after heavy rain, disrupting a corridor carrying about a third of DRC copper cathode exports

RMRoy Mulenga

2 March 20262 min read

Bridge collapse cuts DRC's main copper export route to Zambia

Heavy rain in the early hours of 1 March 2026 caused the Kakoso bridge, on the road linking the Zambian copperbelt towns of Chingola and Chililabombwe, to collapse after its culverts failed under excessive stormwater, cutting off traffic on one of the main routes feeding the Kasumbalesa border post with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zambia's Copperbelt Minister, Elisha Matambo, confirmed the incident, saying: "We regret to inform the public of the incident where Kakoso Bridge collapsed between Chingola and Chililabombwe."

The road is managed under a public-private partnership concession by Turbo Kachin, and Zambia's Road Development Agency said repair crews were working to restore traffic within 48 hours. RDA communications manager Anthony Mulowa said the agency "regrets the inconvenience caused and assures the public that every effort is being made to restore safe traffic flow".

A third of DRC's copper cathode at risk

Kasumbalesa is the single busiest crossing point for the DRC's mineral exports, handling roughly a third of the country's copper cathode shipments bound for southern African ports. With the Kakoso bridge out, transporters were advised to reroute via the Jiayou-Sakania and Mokambo border crossings, both of which have far lower capacity and were already prone to congestion even before the extra traffic. Truckers and other motorists were left stranded on the affected stretch as the detours added hours, and in some cases days, to journey times.

A corridor already under strain

The disruption landed on a border crossing that has struggled with chronic congestion for years, driven by the sheer volume of mineral traffic converging on a single crossing point and infrastructure that has not kept pace. Zambia and the DRC have since 2025 been working through a series of bilateral agreements aimed at speeding up clearance at Kasumbalesa, but the Kakoso bridge failure was a reminder that road infrastructure on the approach roads, not just customs processing at the border itself, is also a chokepoint for the copperbelt's exports. For mining companies on both sides of the border, the episode underscored the fragility of relying on a single road corridor for a large share of the world's copper and cobalt supply.