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Congo ‘Should Just Get On’ With Inga Dam, African Development Bank Says

Congo ‘Should Just Get On’ With Inga Dam, African Development Bank Says

(Bloomberg) --

The Democratic Republic of Congo should move ahead with the Inga III hydropower project even if it means building a version of the dam that’s smaller than the one currently being proposed by developers, said Akinwumi Adesina, head of the African Development Bank.

The Inga III dam on Africa’s second-longest river would be the biggest hydroelectric power station on the continent and provide much-needed electricity to Congo and other nations, including South Africa. The dam is part of a long-delayed plan known as Grand Inga that’s eventually intended to harness as much as 40,000 megawatts of power from the Congo River.

The AfDB financed feasibility studies for the dam when it was envisaged as a 4,800 megawatt facility, in 2013. However, a year ago, two groups of Spanish and Chinese developers submitted a joint proposal to the government for a 11,050 megawatt dam that would cost about $14 billion. President Felix Tshisekedi, who assumed office in January, has yet to approve the bid.

“The 4,800 megawatt business plan is already done and paid for,” Adesina said in an interview Monday in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. “We have to be pragmatic. People need electricity today, not in 10 years.”

Only about 10% of Congolese have electricity. South Africa, which faces its own electricity problems, is set to buy about half the power from either version of the project. Angola said earlier this month it’s interested in buying as much as 5,000 megawatts from 2025.

The Spanish and Chinese developers, including China Three Gorges Corp., say the smaller version isn’t commercially viable.

In 2016, the World Bank pulled $73 million in funding for Inga III studies because of concerns about transparency. While the Washington-based lender has said it’s no longer interested in supporting the project, Adesina said the African Development Bank is still ready to help.

“It’s not the issue of the bank right now, it’s for the government to decide what it is exactly they want to do, and whatever they decide we will support,” he said. “But what I’m saying is, when something is ready for bankability and investment, just get on with it.”

--With assistance from Michael Kavanagh.

To contact the reporter on this story: Saul Butera in Kigali at sbutera2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax

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