The World Bank has said it is committing $1 billion to fund the development of the Grand Inga Hydropower Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The bank Board of Executive Directors approved a $250 million credit as the first funding tranche toward the first development stage of Inga 3, a portion of the Grand Inga hydropower project.
The first tranche of money will be used to fund studies, boost economic development, reform the state electricity company and attract private developers for the facility on the Congo River.
“The first phase of the Inga 3 Development Program will focus on local development opportunities in Kongo Central, to improve the living conditions and economic prospects of approximately 100 communities (1.2 million people) living close to Inga”, the World Bank said in a statement.
Inga 3, once completed, could potentially generate between 2 to 11 gigawatts (GW) of power.
“By supporting DRC’s vision for Inga through this program and complementary investments in governance, education and infrastructure, the World Bank Group, together with partners, can significantly contribute to converting DRC’s natural resources into economic growth, jobs, and human development for the Congolese people,” Albert Zeufack, World Bank Division Director for Angola, Burundi, DRC and Sao Tome & Principe said.
The World Bank is supporting the development of Inga 3 as part of its commitment to advancing the flagship Mission 300 initiative which aims to bring electricity to 300 million African people by 2030.
Inga 1, initially a 351-megawatt plant, was commissioned in 1972 and the 1,424 megawatt Inga II facility a decade later.
Once complete, the Grand Inga hydropower project could generate 11,000 megawatts of power, and more than triple Congo’s current capacity at a cost $10 billion..
The Inga site on the Congo River, the world’s third-biggest by volume, has the potential to ultimately generate about 40,000 megawatts of electricity.
South Africa is currently angling to benefit from the Grand Inga hydropower project and is currently in talks to build an interconnector line through Zambia and Zimbabwe into DR Congo in order to enable import some of the electricity poised to be generated from the project.
