Lukala CICO Airport
Location: Lukala, Kongo Central
Status: Abandoned with no visible traces left, exact location unknown
ICAO Code: none
IATA Code: none
Coordinates: near -5.483245°, 14.467123°
Lukala is a small industrial town in the Kongo Central Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located along the RN1 highway and Matadi-Kinshasa railway. It is best known for its cement production, centered around the Cimenterie de Lukala (CILU), the country’s oldest and most significant cement plant. Established in 1921 by the Société des Ciments du Congo (CICO) under Belgian colonial rule, the factory was strategically placed near limestone deposits and a railway link to facilitate cement distribution. Initially dependent on labor-intensive vertical kilns, the plant transitioned to rotary kiln technology in 1955, supported by the Zongo hydroelectric dam, which improved energy efficiency. After Congolese independence in 1960, the cement industry remained vital, with the factory passing through various ownerships, most recently operated by HeidelbergCement Group.
The town’s infrastructure reflects its industrial heritage. Lukala’s segregated colonial layout once divided European managers and African workers, a structure that persisted into the post-colonial period. Today, the factory continues extraction and production, though challenges such as infrastructure degradation, fluctuating cement demand, and environmental concerns persist. The area surrounding the plant is marked by quarries, abandoned kilns, and company housing, remnants of its colonial past. Studies, such as Robby Fivez’s “The Rubble in the Jungle”, highlight Lukala’s role in colonial industrialization, emphasizing how its “cementscape” shaped the broader Congolese built environment. Despite economic shifts, Lukala remains a key hub for cement supply in the DRC, supporting urbanization projects across the country.
Historical Background
Lukala was once home to a third airfield, known as Lukala CICO Airport, located north of the town. The only known reference to this airport comes from the 1967 aeronautical Joint Operations Graphics published by the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency, which lists it under this name.
The name CICO appears to originate from the Société des Ciments du Congo (CICO), the company that operated Lukala’s cement factory. Under Mobutu’s rule, CICO was renamed Cimenterie Nationale (CIMA), which suggests that Lukala CICO Airport must have been established before 1965, when the company’s original name was still in use.
The airport’s indicated location is somewhat unusual, as it is significantly further from the cement factory than Lukala Airport (old). Neither historical maps nor available satellite imagery show industrial structures at this location, making its purpose unclear.
Current Status (as of 2025)
The exact former location of Lukala CICO Airport remains uncertain, though it was likely situated at or near -5.483245°, 14.467123°.
Analysis of 2013 satellite imagery reveals ground patterns that may represent traces of a former runway. However, by 2016, the site has been redeveloped, now featuring large industrial structures that are likely part of the cement factory’s expansion program. However, its location — approximately 6 kilometers from Lukala — seems unusually distant for an extension of the main plant.
This raises an interesting possibility: this specific site may have been chosen because CICO (now CILU) originally owned the land — perhaps because it was once the location of the company’s former airstrip.