Name and Location
Western Power Corridor (Westcor) development, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Project Description
The proposed project will entail the development of Inga 3, which will include the construction of the 3 500-MW Inga 3 hydropower station, in Angola.

According to the Southern African Power Pool proposal, the power generated at the power plant will be transmitted by means of two 400-kV high-voltage ac lines to Capanda power station.

Two multiterminal high-voltage dc (HVdc) systems, comprising transmission lines stretching 3 000 km, will be established through Angola, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

With tap-offs at Auas, in Windhoek, and at Gaborone, the two HVdc circuits will terminate on the Eskom national grid at Omega, close to Koeberg, in the Western Cape, and at Pegasus, at Dundee, in KwaZulu-Natal.

The project includes the promotion and possible development of the Grand Inga in the DRC with a potential supply of 40 000 MW. Upgrades for the two existing stations, Inga I and Inga II, will be included in the HVdc installation cost.

Further, Westcor, which is developing the project, will engineer the hydroelectric potential of the Kwanza basin, in northern Angola, estimated to be 6 700 MW.

The project also plans to build interconnections strung with fibre optics for broadband telecommunication links to be leased to operators and to increase trade in electricity by investing in joint-venture projects that will allow sharing of capital.

The goal of the project is to provide low-cost affordable and environment-friendly energy and to ensure that economic development in the region is not constrained by shortages in energy capacity.

Should the project go ahead, it will create three companies to execute the operation - an electricity generation company, an electricity transmission company and a telecommunications company.

Value
$8,5-billion.

Duration
The prefeasibility study for the baseload capacity station was completed at the end of 2007.

Client
Initially Westcor, which was formed by five Southern African power utilities, each of which contributed $100 000 as start-up funding, was going to develop, own, manage, maintain, operate and promote the Inga project. Westcor comprised the Botswana Power Corporation; Empressa Nacional de Electricidade, of Angola; Eskom, of South Africa; Nampower, of Namibia and the Societé Nationale d'Electricité, of the DRC.

The DRC has since requested to be the sole developer of the project and the other four countries have pulled out of the project.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
African Development Bank ($14-million grant).

Latest Developments
March 2010
The DRC has requested to be the sole developer of the project and the other four countries have pulled out. Westcor will therefore be closed down.

March 2008
The prefeasibility study for the baseload capacity station was completed at the end of 2007, and it is expected that construction will start in about 18 months to 24 months time.

Westcor has called for expressions of interest for the appointment of legal advisers, as well as planning for the recruitment of advisers, consultants and front line office operation staff to be involved in the power project.

The organisation is also calling for expressions of interest for the appointment of power system economic advisers, financial advisers, engineering consultants, environmental-impact assessment contractors, risk management advisers, project managers and quantity surveyors, as well as full-time employment staff to be taken on in Gaborone, in Botswana.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Westcor, tel +267 392 3534, fax +267 392 3549.