Congo River's 40,000-Megawatt, $80 Billion Hydro Project Garners Bank Support

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The 'Grand Inga' hydroelectric power project on the Congo River, which has been proposed and developed in bits and pieces over the past two decades, has been jolted into life once again following a meeting between the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, and the South African president, Jacob Zuma.

For related information see July 11, 2011, article - Risk and Cost Drive Congo River Hydropower Project to Plan B.

The memorandum of understanding signed by the two presidents could lead to a formal treaty covering the project and the creation of a schedule of defined phases and project execution milestones.

The Grand Inga, if and when completed in 2025, will be the largest hydropower installation in the world and will have a power generation capacity of 40,000 MW--more than twice the generating capacity of China's Three Gorges Dam. The power output is envisaged driving Africa's industrial development through a grid network of power transmission lines to carry the clean energy to the continent's mining and industrial and urban centers in South Africa, Egypt and eventually Europe. The transmission lines will be the first phase of the project, and a $15 million study is currently being conducted to plot the phased development of the project.

To be constructed at the Inga Falls, 225 kilometers southwest of the DRC capital Kinshasa, the hydro dam and plant comes with a huge price tag of $80 billion, plus a further $10 billion minimum for the transmission network. The two presidents appear to be encouraged by the support of international banks in furthering the project.

The World Bank, The African development Bank and the European Investment Bank, plus private, foreign energy companies are said to be optimistic about the project and will to invest substantial sums into Grand Inga to reap the major economic and business benefits that would flow from the successful power project.

The power generated will be managed by the state-owned utilities from both countries --Eskom for South Africa and the DRC's Societe Nationale d'Electricite. This arrangement appears to have filled the functions of the entity Westcor, which was made of regional neighbors, but lost focus when Namibia decided to handle its power developments separately.

At the Inga Falls, the the Congo River plummets nearly 100 meters with a flow speed of 43 cubic meters per second. Currently, there are two power stations at the site with a combined output of 1,775 MW.

For related information see April 4, 2011 - BHP Aluminum Smelter is Key to Hydropower Project on Congo River.

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