Transport operators in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) say restrictions linked to the Ebola outbreak have devastated livelihoods, cutting off thousands of families from their daily income.
Didier Chigangu, secretary of the Union of Road Travel Agencies, said the closure of transport companies has hit young people especially hard, as bus stations serve as major hubs for employment and daily activity.
"Look, this bus station is a major hub for young people. It's a place frequented by 80 percent of Goma's youth. Some are travelers, others are porters, some are salespeople, others are drivers, and still others work as office staff in various departments. We help people travel, and it is a sector that helps tackle the problems of unemployment and youth crime," said Chigangu.
Chigangu warned that the suspension of services has left hundreds without work, urging authorities to review the measures despite the outbreak.
The Ebola epidemic in eastern DRC has triggered a severe economic crisis, with the country’s health ministry reporting 808 confirmed cases and 192 deaths as of Monday.
In Goma, most transport companies remain shut, halting services that once carried thousands of passengers daily and generated several thousand dollars in revenue.
The outbreak’s impact has rippled across the local economy, leaving families struggling to cope as movement restrictions choke off trade and employment opportunities.
Ebola restrictions cripple transport sector in eastern DRC
Ebola restrictions cripple transport sector in eastern DRC
An advanced casting 3D printing enterprise from northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has successfully landed in Nan'an City in east China's Fujian Province, showcasing a model of deep industrial synergy under the Fujian-Ningxia collaboration program.
Fujian and Ningxia are marking the 30th anniversary of their pairing-up program, an initiative launched in 1996 to boost common development through shared resources and expertise.
At a workshop of a smart casting factory in Nan'an, a county-level city under the administration of Quanzhou City, eight 3D printing machines from Ningxia's Kocel Company have been deployed to boost local machinery and equipment manufacturing.
Headquartered in Yinchuan City of Ningxia, Kocel operates one of China's leading intelligent foundry factories using full-process 3D printing technology. Over 2,000 km down the south, Quanzhou boasts a complete machinery and equipment industrial chain with an annual output value exceeding 100 billion yuan.
In 2023, under the collaboration mechanism between the two regions, Kocel established its latest-generation of casting 3D printing smart factory in Quanzhou's Nan'an City, fully leveraging the advanced high-end manufacturing expertise from Ningxia and the whole industrial chain in Fujian.
"The casting 3D printing smart factory of Kocel has filled the technological gap in casting 3D printing in Nan'an City. Meanwhile, the project leverages Fujian's industrial resources to improve the downstream supporting industries for Ningxia's equipment manufacturing sector, so that the two regions have achieved mutual access to each other's industrial resources, supporting and strengthening industrial chains for both sides," said Huang Ziya, director of the Industry and Information Technology Bureau of Nan'an City.
Meanwhile, Fujian's well-developed machinery and equipment industrial chain has not only brought substantial orders for the high-tech company from Ningxia, but also offered diverse application scenarios to drive continuous technological advancement and application innovation.
"Many of the parts ordered by local enterprises [in Quanzhou] are quite complex, which places much higher requirements for our production and drives us to continuously improve. By relying on the local industrial chain, we now not only sell products but also provide entire production lines. Since we started production here in 2023, our output value has been growing steadily," said Shi Qingming, assistant general manager of Quanzhou Kocel Intelligent Foundry Industry Innovation Center.
Ningxia’s 3D printing casting technology takes root in Fujian
