DRC: AfDB Commits to Financing the Future Inga III Dam
During a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) confirmed his institution’s willingness to participate in financing the construction of the Inga III hydroelectric dam.
A boost for the Inga Dam Complex, the world’s largest hydroelectric project, in Congo1. While in the DRC (June 17-20), AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina announced that his institution would help finance the construction of the Inga III hydroelectric dam, located near the town of Matadi. « The AfDB has decided to support the Grand Inga project because the DRC is an energy power in the heart of Africa and maximizing the potential of the Inga site can help Africa’s industrialization, » said the leader, for whom « the time for speeches is over… ». The institution had already funded $73 million in 2014 for feasibility studies for the project.
1In its final version, the Grand Inga dam, located at the mouth of the Congo River, could have an installed capacity of 39,000 MW. This is twice the potential of the Three Gorges Dam in China, currently the first hydroelectric complex on the planet.
This is further good news for this project, which is a symbol of all Congolese ambitions. In October 2018, an agreement with two Chinese (Three Gorges Corporation) and Spanish (ACS) companies was also reached to finance this Inga III project, whose total cost is estimated at 14 billion dollars. Inga III, « which is one of the six planned phases of the Great Inga », according to Kinshasa, should theoretically take over from the Inga I (1972) and Inga II (1982) dams, installed on the rapids of the Congo River and which only partially operate due to lack of maintenance. At present, less than 10% of Congolese have access to electricity.
