Boulevard du 30 Juin

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.

Boulevard du 30 Juin

Boulevard of June 30th
The Boulevard du 30 Juin, downtown Kinshasa
Former name(s)	Boulevard Albert 1er
Owner	City of Kinshasa
Length	5 km (3.1 mi)
Location	Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Construction
Construction start	1912

History

In Kinshasa's urban history, the city evolved from the Belgian Congo settlement founded by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881 at Léopoldville (Kintambo-Ngaliema), situated to the west of the downtown area.^[1][2][3] However, a subsequent settlement emerged just a few kilometers upstream at Chief Ntsuvila's village of Nshasha (Kinshasa commune-Gombe commune). Over time, the need for connectivity between these two centers became evident, facilitated by the Matadi–Kinshasa Railway line established in 1898.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

In 1912, District Commissioner Georges Moulaert advocated for consolidating the administrative units of Léopoldville commune, Kalina (now Gombe commune), and Ndolo, leading to the construction of a road connecting Léopoldville and Kinshasa.^[9] As the commercial hub of the colony, Kinshasa commune's rapid growth outpaced Léopoldville, prompting the relocation of the port from Leopoldville to the Kinshasa commune a catalyst for further development. This progression laid the groundwork for the creation of a new boulevard when the Matadi–Kinshasa Railway line was reconstructed in 1923.^[9][10]

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).^[11] 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, supporting the emergence of public transit for African workers.^[12][13]

In the early 1950s, urban planning aimed to impart an imperial grandeur to Léopoldville, with the boulevard at its core. By 1953, the boulevard extended five kilometers to Kalina, featuring structures like the Sabena buildings (designed by Claude Laurens), the Royal residential-commercial building (constructed by FORESCOM Building contractor Henri Trenteseaux), and a Le Corbusier-inspired apartment complex for civil servants.^{[14][15][16][17]} After Independence, while the boulevard's development remained relatively static, a symbolic renaming to Boulevard du 30 Juin took place on 30 June 1963, in honor of Congo's Independence Day from Belgium on 30 June 1960.^[18][19]

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.^[20] Kinshasa's governor, Kimbembe Mazunga, affirmed that Kinshasa's Town Hall settled all associated bills with its own funds.^[20] 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).^[20] 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.^[20] By February 2011, Boulevard du 30 Juin and Boulevard Triomphal were fully rehabilitated and widened.^[21]

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.^[22] 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.^[22] As of 16 December 2022, numerous streets throughout Kinshasa, even in economically disadvantaged urban areas, had been illuminated through rehabilitation efforts.^[23]

Government and infrastructure

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

• Ministry of Transport and Channels of Communication
• Ministry of Employment^[24]
• Ministry of Finance
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Land Affairs
• Central Bank of the Congo
• Direction General of Migration
• Permanent Office of Investigations of Aviation Accidents and Incidents
• MONUSCO
• REGIDESO
• Kinshasa Central Station
• Kinshasa General Hospital
• Hôtel du Gouvernement

Gallery

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See also

• Democratic Republic of the Congo portal

• Trans-African Highway network

References

1. 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 2023-08-04.
2. Boya, Loso Kiteti (2010). D.R. Congo. Bloomington, Indiana, United States. p. 175. ISBN 9781450082495.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
3. Ness, Immanuel (September 19, 2017). Encyclopedia of World Cities. Thames, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317471585.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Railway Times. 1898. p. 291.
9. 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.
10. Blanchart, Charles (1999). "Le Rail au Congo Belge, tome 2: 1920–1945" (in French). Brussels, Belgium: Blanchart & Co. Retrieved 2023-08-12.
11. 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.
12. News from Belgium, Volume 2. Brussels, Belgium: Belgian National Tourist Office. 1942.
13. La Revue coloniale belge: Issues 78-101 (in French). Brussels, Belgium: La Revue. 1949. pp. 20–255.
14. Jadot, J. M. (1953). "Belgian Congo". Civilisations. 3 (4): 599–604. ISSN 0009-8140. JSTOR 41377578.
15. World Trade Information Service: Economic reports. Part 1. Washington, D.C., United States: United States Bureau of Foreign Commerce. p. 7.
16. L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui, Issues 47-49 (in French). Brussels, Belgium. 1953. p. 86.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
17. "Annexes Au Bulletin du Congo Belge" (PDF) (in French). Brussels, Belgium: Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences. July 15, 1949. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
18. 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.
19. Mills, Greg (2015-01-03). 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.
20. "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.
21. Malu-Malu, Muriel Devey (2011-02-08). "Les routes congolaises, un chantier dans l'ornière". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
22. 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.
23. Ebubu, Spack (2022-12-16). "Kinshasa : l'avenue des Poids lourds dotée d'un éclairage public". Laprosperite (in French). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
24. John Martino (2013). "Democratic Republic of the Congo". Worldwide Government Directory with Intergovernmental Organizations 2013. CQ Press. ISBN 978-1-4522-9937-2.

External links

• Media related to Boulevard du 30 Juin at Wikimedia Commons

4.3028°S 15.3117°E / -4.3028; 15.3117