Colonial era and post-independence Office d'Exploitation des Transports Coloniaux The Office d'Exploitation des Transports Coloniaux (OTRACO) was instituted by the Belgian government on 20 April 1935. Its foundational mandate was the centralization and management of transportation services, encompassing the handling, transshipment, and related operations within the
Belgian Congo and the territories of
Ruanda-Urundi. Retaining the structure and operational framework, OTRACO became integral to the Congolese economy and saw the appointment of Jacques Mbilo as the first Congolese president of the management board in 1961. However, its monopoly was removed in 1977, allowing private entities to enter the market as shipowners. This deregulation led to a decline in passenger traffic, with only 121,779 passengers transported in 1982. In April 1991, ONATRA was restructured into a conglomerate comprising three components: Holding, OTP (
Office de Transport et de Port), and OCN (
Office de Chantier Naval). Challenges related to port congestion at
Matadi in July 2005 were compounded by outdated equipment and the accumulation of over 4,000 containers at the port. Anatole Kikwa Mwata Mukambu, the deputy commercial director of ONATRA in Matadi, characterized this congestion as "artificial", indicating that it was not solely attributed to logistical inefficiencies but was also influenced by external factors. However, Minister of Portfolio
Célestin Vunabandi Kanyamihigo opposed this suspension, arguing that the appointment or dismissal of a management committee should be determined by a government decision or through consultations between the technical and administrative supervision ministries. The suspension resulted in a significant schism among ONATRA's staff, with two factions emerging: one in favor of the new committee appointed by Mwakasa, accusing the former management of mismanagement and embezzlement, and another opposing the changes. In July 2006, ONATRA encountered a significant upheaval due to a
strike instigated by a Presidential Decree, which conferred exclusive authority to the
Office des Douanes et Accises (OFIDA) to levy and collect import revenues at Matadi Port. This shift rendered OFIDA the sole intermediary for importers and exporters, assuming the responsibilities of tax and fee collection previously managed by ONATRA and other public entities at the port. In August 2006, ONATRA marked a milestone when a vessel
docked at its public port in
Kisangani for the first time in a decade, arriving from Kinshasa. This event symbolized the traffic revival between the
Tshopo Province and Kinshasa, with the ship carrying roughly fifty passengers and 2,000 tons of essential goods. This industrial action effectively paralyzed port and station activities, with three-quarters of ONATRA's services, including those of OFIDA and OCC (
Office Congolais de Contrôle), grinding to a halt, leaving only import and export services operational. The newly acquired machinery, displayed in front of ONATRA's administrative building at the port, comprised thirty-six Dasson-brand
elevators, each with a lifting capacity of up to four tons. This procurement was part of the second phase of machinery enhancements, which also included a 45-tonne self-crane and ten additional elevators already operational at the port. ONATRA entered into a strategic partnership with the Franco-Spanish firm Progoza, while SNCC collaborated with the Belgian railway operator Vecturis. This endeavor aimed to modernize both companies through technical assistance contracts, without resorting to
privatization. However, this move elicited concerns among employees, particularly at ONATRA, over the absence of consultations and the potential ramifications for
job security. , Kinshasa In 2008, the Boyera Shipyard in Mbandaka, ONATRA's second shipyard in the country following N'dolo in Kinshasa, encountered substantial difficulties as its dock had been relocated to Kinshasa earlier that year for boat repairs. In May 2008, a team of Congolese and expatriate leaders proposed by Progosa, including the
Managing Director and the
Technical Director, was appointed to oversee ONATRA's stabilization. This terminal was anticipated to alleviate the load on Matadi Port. However, other workers at Matadi Port halted operations, demanding the initiation of a
social dialogue with the employer regarding the issue of agent retirement and the adjustment of workers' salaries concerning the real exchange rate of the national currency against foreign currencies. The alliance between ONATRA and Progosa was dissolved on 7 March 2010. Following this, a delegation representing the entirety of the workforce called "union" was formed. It was further observed that at the onset of Progosa's mandate, only two locomotives remained operational out of the original fleet of six. Within that same month, the company financed the rehabilitation of the fourth
quay at the Port of Matadi, a project which reached completion the following year at an estimated expenditure of approximately two million US dollars. A gubernatorial decree from the Governor of
Équateur, issued on 13 July 2010, imposed a prohibition on vessels docking at private ports in
Mbandaka, mandating that all such vessels must henceforth berth at ONATRA's newly renovated public port in Kinshasa, which had been restored by the
Entreprise Générale Malta Forrest (EGMF).
Société Commerciale des Transports et des Ports In December 2010, ONATRA was reconstituted as a
limited liability company and renamed
Société Commerciale des Transports et des Ports (SCTP). The new corporate statutes were officially ratified on 24 December. In August 2012, Beach Ngobila in Kinshasa, a critical port for passenger
embarkation and
disembarkation traversing the
Congo River between Kinshasa and
Brazzaville, was transferred under SCTP's jurisdiction. In that same month,
Republic of the Congo enacted a closure of its land and river borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in observance of the 52nd anniversary of its independence, which significantly exacerbated the prevailing port congestion at Beach Ngobila. The following year, in May, SCTP procured three new reconditioned locomotives, sourced from
South Africa by the Congolese government, to facilitate freight operations between Matadi and Kinshasa. These two locomotives, each with a price tag of $1.3 million, could haul approximately 800 tons, in stark contrast to the outdated SCTP locomotives, which had a capacity of between 350 and 400 tons. The residual two million francs were generated solely by fast boat services, as the ferry crossing was predominantly free and almost exclusively one-way, from Brazzaville to Kinshasa. After undergoing rehabilitation since 8 January 2013, initiated by the
Minister of Transport and Channels of Communication, Justin Kalumba, and financed by the Congolese Government at a cost of 2.5 million US dollars, SCTP's ITB Kokolo vessel was unveiled on 7 February 2015 by President
Joseph Kabila, intended for the conveyance of passengers and cargo along the Congo River between Kinshasa and Kisangani, with stopovers in Mbandaka,
Lisala,
Bumba, and
Basoko. with subsequent port calls in Mbandaka on 21 April, before finally docking at SCTP's port in Kisangani on 29 April after a 13-day voyage, and later departed the port with approximately 1,200 tons of goods bound for Kinshasa. As part of executing the Multimodal Transport Project (
Projet de Transport Multimodal) in collaboration with the Congolese government and its partners, designed to improve regional access in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to promote economic unification, the SCTP marked the relaunch of
Matadi–Kinshasa Railway traffic on 22 August after a seven-year hiatus, with the aim to speed up port goods clearance and enhance the sale of local agricultural products by residents near the railway stations to train passengers. On 15 June 2016, a new seaport called "Mbengu Matadi", commercially known as Matadi Gateway Terminal (MGT) was inaugurated in Matadi on the far left of the Pont Maréchal (now
Matadi Bridge) along the Congo River, featuring a quay finished in heavy concrete, a landing stage, and two multi-storey buildings. The first ship docked at the port during its inauguration. In the prior month, approximately eighteen ships were redirected to private ports, and later in December, seven more ships were diverted, causing a significant financial loss for the SCPT. However, earlier on 20 August of that year, President
Félix Tshisekedi had instructed the
Minister of the Interior, the
Minister of Justice, and the
Minister of Transport to take action and implement the decisions to shut down all illegal ports in Kongo-Central, but no action was taken. The next year in October, ninety-seven out of one hundred and twenty containers of equipment meant for building the
Cimenterie de la grande Province Orientale (CIPOR) disappeared from Kinshasa. Only 23 were discovered at the SCPT's port. In August 2022, SCTP initiated a refurbishment program for more than 20 boats to serve the Mbandaka, Kisangani, Kasaï, and
Sankuru river routes, with the newly restored M/B Luberu ship set to sail from Kinshasa to Mbandaka, accompanied by a passenger barge and three cargo vessels for goods. In August 2023, the company received the claimed $207 million and appealed to the new Management Committee to reinstate river transportation in the country with ten vessels and 20 barges, as well as the recommencement of express and cargo rail services between Kinshasa and Matadi. SCTP's newly renovated quay at the Port of Matadi welcomed its inaugural commercial ship in December 2023, loaded with 6,000 tons of goods, which bodes well for the upcoming commercial season. == Network ==