https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Grand Inga hydropower project, Democratic Republic of Congo

28th March 2014

  

Font size: - +

Name and Location
Grand Inga hydropower project, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Client
DRC government.

Project Description
The Grand Inga project, which will be located on the Congo river, is expected to generate 44 000 MW of electricity once all the phases are complete.

Inga 3, the first stage of the much larger Grand Inga scheme, will produce 4 800 MW of electricity and will be completed in two phases.

The first phase, the Inga 3 low-head project, will have a capacity of 1 800 MW and will not require the damming of the Congo river.

The second phase, the Inga 3 high-head project, will add an additional 3 000 MW and includes construction of the Grand Inga Dam.

Five other hydropower plants will be built on the same dam, eventually raising the plant’s cumulative capacity to 44 000 MW.

South Africa is expected to buy 2 500 MW of Inga 3’s capacity.

Value
Inga 3 is expected to cost an estimated $12-billion to complete. Funding will come from several sources, including the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, the French Development Agency, the European Investment Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

The entire Grand Inga project is estimated at $50-billion to $80-billion.

Duration
October 2015 has been announced as the launch date for construction of the first phase of the Grand Inga project.

Latest Developments
The World Bank's board has approved a $73-million grant to help the DRC develop an expansion of the Inga hydroelectric dam.

The grant, combined with another $33-million from the AfDB, will fund technical studies to analyse the dam's environmental and social impact and ensure it is sustainable, the World Bank has said in a statement.

The grant will also help establish the independent Inga Development Authority, which is meant to follow best international practices in managing the project and selecting private companies to help fund it.

Three international consortiums are bidding for the contract to build the dam, known as Inga 3, and sell the power it generates, estimated at 4 800 MW.

This is nearly three times the amount of power produced from Inga's two existing dams, which are decades old and have been crippled by neglect, government debt and risk-averse investors.

Under the current plan, South Africa will buy 2 500 MW from Inga III, and another 1 300 MW will be sold to Congo's power-starved mining industry.

The remaining 1 000 MW will go to the national utility SNEL, helping provide power for an estimated seven-million people around Kinshasa, Congo's capital, and covering all the projected unmet electricity needs by 2025.
The World Bank has said that its technical assistance funds will not go towards construction or operation of the dam, and it has not yet decided on whether to support the construction of Inga 3, which is proposed to cost $12 billion.

"By being involved in the development of Inga 3 . . . from an early stage we can help ensure that its development is done right so it can be a game changer by providing electricity to millions of people and powering commerce and industry," says World Bank VP for Africa Makhtar Diop.

Success for Inga III will help raise investors' confidence in the remaining five stages of the Grand Inga project. Grand Inga would produce 44 000 MW, dwarfing all other hydroelectric projects in the world, including China's Three Gorges dam.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
The Grand Inga project has been delayed several times over the past 40 years.

Contact Details for Project Information
Embassy of DRC in South Africa, tel +27 12 344 6475 and fax +27 12 344 4054.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa (Pty) Ltd
Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa (Pty) Ltd

Goodwin Submersible Pumps Africa is sole distributors for Goodwin electrically driven, submersible, abrasion resistance slurry pumps.

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Universal Storage Systems (SA)
Universal Storage Systems (SA)

South African leader in Steel -Racking, -Shelving, and -Mezzanine flooring. Universal has innovated an approach which encompasses conceptualising,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.129 0.188s - 159pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now