Boulevard du 30 Juin

Boulevard du 30 Juin
Boulevard of June 30th
The Boulevard du 30 Juin, downtown Kinshasa
Interactive map of Boulevard du 30 Juin
Former nameBoulevard Albert 1er
OwnerCity of Kinshasa
Length5 km (3.1 mi)
LocationKinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Construction
Construction start
1912

The Boulevard du 30 Juin ("Boulevard of June 30th") is a major 5‑km street in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the city center's main transport artery, connecting the southern area of La Gombe with Kintambo and the Ngaliema to the west.[1]

History

Kinshasa's urban history began with the Belgian Congo settlement of Léopoldville, founded by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881 in the Kintambo-Ngaliema area west of the present-day city center.[2][3][4] A second settlement later developed a few kilometers upstream around Chief Ntsuvila's village of Nshasha, in the present-day Kinshasa and Gombe communes. The need to connect these two settlements eventually led to the establishment of the Matadi–Kinshasa Railway in 1898.[5][6][7][8][9]

In 1912, District Commissioner Georges Moulaert proposed the consolidation of the administrative areas of the Léopoldville commune, Kalina (now Gombe), and Ndolo, which then resulted in the construction of a road linking Léopoldville and the Léopoldville commune.[10] As the colony's commercial center, the Léopoldville commune grew rapidly and surpassed Léopoldville, leading to the relocation of the port to Kinshasa and accelerating the area's development. This development paved the way for the creation of a new boulevard following the reconstruction of the Matadi–Kinshasa Railway in 1923.[10][11]

In 1939, the vision of a grand boulevard gained momentum, with a monument honoring King Albert I of Belgium unveiled on the new Place de la Gare (now Place de l'Indépendance).[12] World War II temporarily altered these plans, but by 1942, the boulevard had extended to Avenue du Port (the intersection at the current Grand Poste). Following the war, key sections of the boulevard were paved, which supported the emergence of public transit for African workers.[13][14]

In the early 1950s, urban planning efforts sought to give Léopoldville an imperial character, with the boulevard as a central feature. By 1953, the boulevard had extended five kilometers to Kalina and included notable buildings such as the Sabena offices, designed by Claude Laurens; the Royal residential-commercial building, constructed by FORESCOM contractor Henri Trenteseaux; and a Le Corbusier-inspired apartment complex for civil servants.[15][16][17][18] After independence, the boulevard's development slowed, but it was symbolically renamed Boulevard du 30 Juin on 30 June 1963 to commemorate the Democratic Republic of Congo's independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960.[19][20]

Road network

Boulevard du 30 Juin connects Kintambo and Kinshasa commune. From Kintambo, the road passes through Ngaliema before continuing as Matadi Road (National Route 1) toward Kongo Central. From Kinshasa commune, Boulevard Lumumba extends east toward Kwango and central DR Congo via Nsele and Maluku.[21] Two major roads connect these two outbound routes from the city. They are Pierre Mulele Avenue (formerly 24 Novembre Avenue), which links Boulevard du 30 Juin with Matadi Road in Ngaliema, and University Avenue, which runs from Limete through Mont-Amba, the University of Kinshasa, and Mont-Ngafula before meeting Matadi Road at the southern city limits. Together, these roads form an informal ring road.[21]

Rehabilitation

Road rehabilitation

In 2006, President Joseph Kabila Kabange inaugurated the commencement of rehabilitation and modernization work on Route Des Poids-Lourds, Limete 14eme Rue, Boulevard du 30 Juin, and Boulevard Lumumba.[22] Kinshasa's governor, Kimbembe Mazunga, affirmed that Kinshasa's Town Hall settled all associated bills with its own funds.[22] He emphasized that the Town Hall's financing covers costs related to sanitizing Boulevard du 30 juin and rehabilitating Route Des Poids-Lourds (from Pont Matete to Kinshasa Central Station), Boulevard Lumumba (from Limete Tower to Funa), and Boulevard Sendwe (from Avenue de la Funa to Kasa-Vubu Avenue).[22] These projects were executed by the Compagnie Nationale Chinoise de Travaux de Ponts et Chaussées (CNCTPC). Parenthetically, the city's governor stated that Bokassa Avenue, where several issues have arisen, will undergo complete rehabilitation shortly, with the necessary means already available.[22] By February 2011, Boulevard du 30 Juin and Boulevard Triomphal were fully rehabilitated and widened.[23]

LED lighting rehabilitation

On 25 August 2020, Kinshasa's governor, Gentiny Ngobila Mbala, initiated rehabilitation work for public lighting on key Kinshasa arteries, including Boulevard du 30 Juin, Boulevard Lumumba, Avenue Colonel Mondjiba, Avenue de la Justice, and Avenue des Batetela.[24] He projected a 14-day duration to replace conventional lights with energy-efficient LED lights. A total of 620 300-Watt LED bulbs were mounted on 320 metal poles along Boulevard du 30 Juin to Kintambo Magasin. Each pole housed two luminaires: one facing the road and the other the sidewalk.[24] As of 16 December 2022, numerous streets throughout Kinshasa, even in economically disadvantaged urban areas, had been illuminated through rehabilitation efforts.[25]

Government and infrastructure

Numerous national government offices are conveniently situated or have significant business presences on Boulevard du 30 Juin:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nsiantima, Joel Nlandu (2014). "Apport de la fibre optique face aux enjeux de la NTIC dans la ville de kinshasa" [Contribution of optical fiber to the challenges of NTIC in the city of Kinshasa] (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Institut Supérieur des Techniques Appliquées Kinshasa (ISTA). Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  2. ↑ Kinyamba, S. Shomba; Nsenda, F. Mukoka; Nonga, D. Olela; Kaminar, T.M.; Mbalanda, W. . (2015). "Monographie de la ville de Kinshasa" (PDF) (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Institut Congolais de Recherche en Développement et Etudes Stratégiques (ICREDES). pp. 13–28. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  3. ↑ Boya, Loso Kiteti (2010). D.R. Congo. Bloomington, Indiana, United States. p. 175. ISBN 9781450082495.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ Ness, Immanuel (September 19, 2017). Encyclopedia of World Cities. Thames, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317471585.
  5. ↑ Ayimpam, Sylvie (2014-06-25). Economie de la débrouille à Kinshasa. Informalité, commerce et réseaux sociaux (in French). Paris, France: Éditions Karthala. p. 59. ISBN 978-2-8111-0951-6.
  6. ↑ Kibayu, Michel Lusamba (September 2010). Évolution des pratiques de sécurisation des conditions de vie dans trois quartiers populaires de Kinshasa: Enjeux et conséquences de la production spatiale et sociale de la ville (in French). Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium: Presses universitaires de Louvain. p. 137. ISBN 978-2-87463-244-0.
  7. ↑ Carpenter, George Wayland (1952). Highways for God in Congo: Commemorating Seventy-five Years of Protestant Missions 1878-1953. Leopoldville, Belgian Congo: La Librairie Evangelique au Congo. p. 7.
  8. ↑ Goodwin, Stefan (2006-03-03). Africas Legacies Of Urbanization: Unfoldi: Unfolding Saga of a Continent. Pennsylvania, United States: Lexington Books. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-7391-5176-1.
  9. ↑ Railway Times. 1898. p. 291.
  10. 1 2 Mpeti, Mpase Nselenge (1974). L'évolution de la solidarité traditionnelle en milieu rural et urbain au Zaïre: le cas des Ntomba et des Basengele du lac Mai-Ndombe (in French). Kinshasa, Zaire: National University of Zaire. pp. 78–83.
  11. ↑ Blanchart, Charles (1999). "Le Rail au Congo Belge, tome 2: 1920–1945" (in French). Brussels, Belgium: Blanchart & Co. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  12. ↑ Geary, Christraud M. (2003-05-02). In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960. London, England, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-0-85667-552-2.
  13. ↑ News from Belgium, Volume 2. Brussels, Belgium: Belgian National Tourist Office. 1942.
  14. ↑ La Revue coloniale belge: Issues 78-101 (in French). Brussels, Belgium: La Revue. 1949. pp. 20–255.
  15. ↑ Jadot, J. M. (1953). "Belgian Congo". Civilisations. 3 (4): 599–604. ISSN 0009-8140. JSTOR 41377578.
  16. ↑ World Trade Information Service: Economic reports. Part 1. Washington, D.C., United States: United States Bureau of Foreign Commerce. p. 7.
  17. ↑ L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui, Issues 47-49 (in French). Brussels, Belgium. 1953. p. 86.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  18. ↑ "Annexes Au Bulletin du Congo Belge" (PDF) (in French). Brussels, Belgium: Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences. 15 July 1949. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  19. ↑ UN-HABITAT (2015-12-15). The State of African Cities 2014: Re-Imagining Sustainable Urban Transitions. Manhattan, New York City, United States: United Nations Fund for Population Activities. p. 188. ISBN 978-92-1-057561-4.
  20. ↑ Mills, Greg (3 January 2015). Why States Recover: Changing Walking Societies into Winning Nations, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. London, England, United Kingdom: Hurst Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84904-540-7.
  21. 1 2 Bisidi-Mambulu, La Blonde (2015). "Analyse et évaluation de l'épargne informelle chez les petits marchands de Kinshasa communément appelée "ko bwakisa carte": Cas de la commune de Lemba de 2009-2013" [Analysis and Evaluation of Informal Savings Among Small Traders in Kinshasa Commonly Known as "Ko Bwakisa Carte": A Case Study of the Commune of Lemba, 2009–2013] (in French). Ngaliema, Kinshasa: Université Pédagogique Nationale. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "Congo Vision: Nouvelles visions pour le Congo et l'Afrique". www.congovision.com (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. January 5, 2006. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  23. ↑ Malu-Malu, Muriel Devey (2011-02-08). "Les routes congolaises, un chantier dans l'ornière". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  24. 1 2 Fula, Nadine (2020-08-26). "Kinshasa: le Gouverneur Ngobila lance les travaux de réhabilitation de l'éclairage public de grandes artères de la ville!". zoom-eco.net (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  25. ↑ Ebubu, Spack (2022-12-16). "Kinshasa : l'avenue des Poids lourds dotée d'un éclairage public". Laprosperite (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  26. ↑ John Martino (2013). "Democratic Republic of the Congo". Worldwide Government Directory with Intergovernmental Organizations 2013. CQ Press. ISBN 978-1-4522-9937-2.
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