The Grand Inga Dam, as a multi-billion-dollar hydroelectric project on the Congo River, has been unable to avoid persistent delay and challenges despite potentially providing renewable electricity for large parts of Africa. So much heralded as a symbol of Africa’s future energy, the project now lies stalled over decades, with renewed setbacks complicating its future once again.
The latest blow in the ambitious plan came last week from China’s state-owned Three Gorges Corporation, which withdrew from the project. Issues cited by critics of the Grand Inga Dam range from Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) history of poor governance and environmental concerns to the staggering $80 billion price tag attached to the project, a figure many say is unrealistic for one of the world’s poorest nations.
Despite these hindrances, others have stated that the project is being subjected to undue scrutiny relative to other huge infrastructure undertakings. Discussions and meetings of international stakeholders regarding the dam project have been conducted throughout the last several years while the construction stage is yet to commence.
The Grand Inga Dam is desperately needed as 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack electricity according to the International Energy Agency. Plans to solve the region’s energy crisis go back to the early 2000s, when DRC and other neighbouring countries like South Africa, Angola, and Botswana suggested an interconnected electricity grid. Hydropower in the Congo River motivated the creation of Westcor, which aimed at increasing the capacity of the existing Inga dams built during the 1970s and 1980s. However, these dams only run at 80% capacity due to lack of maintenance.
The government of the DRC is committed to the project, and it represents one of Africa’s industrialization projects. It plans to add six more dams, potentially generating 40,000 MW of electricity. However, the future of the Grand Inga Dam hangs in question.
