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 generate 44 000 MW of electricity once all the phases are complete.
Inga 3, or Basse Haute – the first stage of the much larger Grand Inga project – 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 damming the Congo river.
The second phase, the Inga 3 high-head project, will add 3 000 MW and includes 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 4 800 MW 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 South 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 from $50-billion to $80-billion.
Duration
Construction is expected to take four to five years to complete.
Latest Developments
The DRC government has announced that its Inga 3 project is not expected to begin producing power until 2024 or 2025, and not in 2020 or 2021 as originally planned.
The project has struggled to attract financing and was dealt another blow last year when the World Bank said it had suspended funding after the Presidency took control of the project, raising transparency concerns.
Last month, government asked the final bidders – one consortium led by China Three Gorges Corporation and another that includes Spain's ACS (Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA) – to submit a joint bid.
"We are working for this timing (in 2024 or 2025) now that the potential developer has been identified," the head of the government agency overseeing development of Inga 3, Bruno Kapandji has told Reuters.
The project's future is also clouded by the tenuous political situation in the DRC, where President Joseph Kabila refused to step down at the end of his constitutional mandate last December.
That has fuelled growing insecurity in the country, including an increase in militia violence and a spate of prison breaks.
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.