The officials, from the China Railways Engineering Cooperation (CREC), offered palm wine, cola nuts, sacks of rice, salt and fish to the ancestors of the royal family of the region, said Radio Okapi.

In making the offerings, they were following local tradition at the purchase of the concern from the Matampa Kimwenza Ngudia Baka group.

The ceremony took place at the village of Nsabuka, in Bas-Congo province, about 15 kilometres from the capital Kinshasa.

DR Congo's deputy minister of Public Works attended the ceremony.

The daily newspaper L'Avenir said the Chinese officials carried out the rites in a part of the country where the idea of ancestral power is still taken seriously.

The CREC specialises in projects involving mining and developing the infrastructure.

It has already started several projects across the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nampa-AFP

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