Are Dr. Congo’s plans to build the world’s largest hydroelectric dam still on track?

There is a majestic view from a set of roaring rapids.

There are plans to build a magnificent multi-billion dollar megaplex on the Congo River – one that could produce enough renewable electricity to power vast swaths of Africa.

The structure will be known as the Dayingam Dam. Located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it will generate twice the power of China’s Sangao Canyon, making it the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant.

The Grand Inga Dam has attracted investors and developers, but decades after it was first dreamed of, the site where the structure remains remains untouched.

Although the government of Dr. Congo insists The plan is still ongoing, with critics citing long delays, Dr Congo’s poor governance record and the potential for serious environmental harm.

There are also concerns about the project’s rotating set of international partners. Just last week, Chinese state-owned company Three Gores withdrew from the project.

Then came a high-profile bill worth a reported $80bn (£63bn) in one of the world’s poorest countries.

However, some believe the standard for violations is different than other major infrastructure projects. Although construction has not yet begun, meetings and discussions between interested parties have taken place over the past year.

The demand for a big international is definitely there. The International Energy Agency, a global watchdog, says about 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity.

Attempts to solve the problem date back decades – in the early 2000s, Congolese and its neighbors – South Africa, Angola, Namibia and Botswana – dreamed of interconnected power grids.

They looked at the mighty Congo River and realized that its powerful water had enormous hydraulic potential.

The international collective, known as Westcor, is trying to multiply the two dams that already exist on the river, INGA 1 and INGA 2.

Mobutu Sese Seko, Congolese’s long-time leader, oversaw their construction in the 1970s and 1980s, but by the end of the century both dams were in dilapidated condition due to a lack of funding for maintenance.

Westcor eventually disbanded, but their grandiose dreams continued. INGA 1 and 2 are now operating at 80% of their capacity and Dr Congo has plans to enhance this output by adding six more dams on the river.

These additional dams are expected to generate up to 40,000 megawatts of electricity Any time – enough to power New York City for about four days during the summer.

The Congolese DR, through INGA, will play its “triggering role in Africa’s revolver… as a catalyst for Africa’s industrialization”, said the country’s development and promotion agency for the Giga project.

The BBC was contacted for this article but did not comment.

Despite previous predictions that INGA 3 would be completed in 2018, construction has not even begun.

A lack of visible progress suggests the project has stalled, but recent news from the World Bank, the world’s leading development organization, means that.

Late last year, the bank announced it was back in talks with the Congolese government and in 2016 it withdrew funding from INGA 3.

The World Bank cited “strategic differences” but eight years later – as Félix Tshisekedi replaced Joseph Kabila as Congo’s president – it made a U-turn.

“I think for the first time I feel more optimistic. I almost believe we can get it done.

This optimism appears to be felt elsewhere as well. A pan-African alliance of financial institutions, including the African Development Bank, has recently been working together to attract private investment in the project.

Joséángel González Tausz Tausz, chairman and partner of AEE Power, the Spanish operating company and partner in the project, told the BBC.

In November, Fabrice Lusinde, head of Congolese’s public electricity company SNEL, said that if work on INGA 3 begins in 2026, its two turbines should start operating in 2032. The electricity emitted by these turbines will fund other turbines at the plant, he said.

INGA 3 itself is expected to generate 4,800 megawatts of electricity. South Africa, a country Hindered by regular cutshave signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) stating that they will import just over half of this amount.

South Africa’s authorities argue that Inga will provide consistent and reliable energy, but critics in the country say cheaper power can be found elsewhere.

A Nigerian company, Natural Oilfield Services, has also reportedly signed on as a buyer. Like South Africa, Nigeria suffers from severe power shortages.

Guinea and Angola have also reportedly expressed interest in large international dams.

So why – after decades of talks – have no new dams materialized?

“This is a project in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Mr. Tas said bluntly. “Even though the project is one of the best in the world – it has no credibility.”

Congo has been blighted by corruption, lack of infrastructure and sluggish development for decades. The conflict in the east of the country has also made international headlines – even though INGA is thousands of kilometers away from the fighting.

Investors are also “scared” because Grand Inga won’t show returns for decades, Tauzi said, adding: “Who knows what’s going to happen in the next 30 years”.

Mr. Tausz’s father worked as an engineer at INGA 1 in 1972. He also said a lack of financial commitment from the Congolese government had led to delays.

Then there’s the issue of funding. In September 2023, Congo’s president told reporters that the country “still faces difficulties in mobilizing investment.”

These difficulties have been exacerbated by the recent withdrawal of China’s three most recent canyon companies. Three Canyons is a key partner, which brings money and expertise to the complex project.

Three Gorges withdrew after becoming frustrated with Congolese Dr Tshisekedi’s handling of the project, according to BBC sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

There is no formal confirmation of the extraction.

But are these problems unique to the Great Inga Dam? Not really, said Professor George Agidis, a hydropower expert at Lancaster University in the UK.

He said years of delays and numerous changes of partners were “normal” for a major infrastructure project like the Inga Dam.

He pointed to the British Mersey Tides Project – If successful it will be the world’s largest tidal barrier. The idea first surfaced in 1984 and was scrapped, then revived in the decades since.

“Does this mean we are unstable in the UK?” Mr Aggidis asked. He described the INGA project as “doable”.

Similar sentiments were shared by Alexander Schwab, an executive at Andritz, the Austria-based company signed to supply equipment for INGA 3.

Mr. Schwab said Andritz signed a memorandum of understanding with Congolese authorities but had not received any news about the project since 2021.

He seemed largely untroubled by the lack of communication, saying three-thirds of major infrastructure projects would be “stagnant somewhere.”

For Mr Schwab, the Grand International is “one of the best large-scale projects in the world”.

But despite its potential, there are deep concerns about the environmental and social impacts of the project.

A common criticism is that the dam will benefit South African consumers and Congolese mining companies, rather than Congolese. About 80% of the population does not have access to electricity.

“Inga will not bring electricity to the people,” said Emmanuel Musuyu, head of the Congolese Civil Society Union circuit. He claimed that most of the power was already promised to South Africa and the mines.

In a recent report on INGA 3, Congolese authorities acknowledged that the dam “alone is insufficient to address the energy and development challenges of the Democratic Republic of the Congo” but said it could act as a “catalyst” for national change.

The World Bank said it was exploring ways to support governments to ensure INGAs “deliver broad benefits for energy access”.

Environmental and rights groups are also concerned about 37,000 Residents of INGA areas will be displaced without compensation. Thousands of people were forcibly evacuated from their homes and were never compensated during the construction of Inga I and II, according to organizations such as International Rivers and Observer Deer de Enla de Los Angeles Global.

They also say the first two dams harmed the area’s biodiversity and any additional dams are likely to do the same.

“This will have a specific impact on fish and all animals in the water… when you change the flow of water in the river, we could see some fish disappear,” Mr Musuyu said.

A 2018 study Considers many large-scale hydropower projects in Europe and the United States to be environmentally disastrous.

Dr Congo’s authorities are aware that people will be displaced by INGA III but say residents will be resettled in areas with basic services and have promised “fair remuneration”.

They also recognized the risk to the local environment and said an assessment aimed at reducing this impact would be completed over the next two years. However, according to BBC sources close to the project, the authorities have yet to raise enough money to fund the studies.

If major international powers experienced only the ups and downs of large infrastructure projects, the World Bank might still generate cause for optimism.

But a dam is a complex engineering project – requiring its many stakeholders to work harmoniously.

The return of the World Bank, leaving only three canyons, shows that Dr. Congo is working hard to maintain this unity.

Despite Dr. Congo’s ambitions, construction cannot begin unless funding is secured.

So, for now, this project seems to have the potential to transform the lives of millions of people in Africa – and it’s a grand vision.