Name of the Project
Grand Inga hydropower project.

Location
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Client
DRC government.

Project Description
The project, which will be located on the Congo river, is expected to have a capacity of 44 000 MW once all the phases are complete.

The project will comprise Inga 3, or Basse Haute – the first stage of the much larger Grand Inga project and will be built in phases.

The first phase, the Inga 3 low-head project, will not require damming the Congo river. The second phase, the Inga 3 high-head project, the construction of the Grand Inga dam.

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

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

Jobs To Be Created
Not stated.

Value
Inga 3 is expected to cost an estimated $14-billion to complete. The development of the project will be implemented through a public–private partnership. The African Development Bank, World Bank, French Development Agency, European Investment Bank and Development Bank of Southern Africa have shown interest in financing the project. In December 2013, the US, through its development agency USAID, also expressed interest in contributing to the financing of Inga 3.

The cost of the entire Grand Inga project is estimated at between $50-billion and $80-billion.

Duration
Construction is expected to take four to five years to complete.

Latest Developments
The DRC government has decided to more than double the size of its planned Inga 3 hydroelectric plant, from the 4 800 MW initially envisaged to between 10 000 MW and 12 000 MW, to make it more economical, after the $14-billion project was hit by financing problems.

A consortium led by China Three Gorges Corporation and another consortium that includes Spain's ACS (Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA) have been vying to develop the project. They will now submit a joint bid on the expanded project in September, the project's director has said.

Director of the Agency for the Development and Promotion of the Grand Inga Project Bruno Kapandji has said the plant will be built to produce between 10 000 MW and 12 000 MW of power, more than double the originally planned capacity of 4 800 MW.

He has said that the increased capacity will help meet rising power demand and bring down costs. The cost of the expanded project has not been confirmed.

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 and the cost of the project has also been underestimated several times.

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