Grand Inga Project – Largest Hydroelectric Plant in the World

The first phase of construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric plant will start in October 2015 on the banks of the Congo River. With a power output of almost 40,000 MW, the Grand Inda project is expected to bring electricity to half of the African continent.

The first phase of the project, dubbed Inga 3, is expected to fill the power gap in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to meet the growing needs of the country’s population and industries, particularly mining, and to meet demand in South Africa. Inga 3 is divided into two phases. The first, starting in 2015, is called Low-Head, located downstream. It does not involve a dam on the river, but an intake from its tributary. These conditions will produce electricity at a very attractive cost. The second phase called Inga 3 High-Head, with a dam across the river and the raising of the water retention of the Low-Head will add 3,000 MW of capacity. After that, five other plants will be installed on the same dam to provide a capacity of 40,000 MW.;

The subsequent steps following first phase will permit countries in Southern Africa, the North East of the Continent and parts of West Africa, to benefit from the production of the site.

Grand Inga is expected to provide more than half of the continent with renewable energy at a low price. The project was first conceived at the beginning of the 1970s. The Africa Development Bank has been involved in the project since 2009 and is financing the base studies and consultants. It has been joined by the World Bank, the French Development Agency, the European Investment Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

The Grand Inga site offers a combination of exceptional natural features: the tributary zone of the Bundi to the Congo River has a fall of 100 meters over approximately fifteen kilometers; with a rate of 40 000 m3 / s.

A hydroelectric installation already exists on the Congo River at this level with dams Inga 1 and 2, two plants in operation since 1972 and 1982 respectively and a total capacity of nearly 1,800 MW.

At a meeting in Paris in May, a number of stakeholders participated in a consultation process regarding the implementation of the first phase of the project.The meeting brought together the principal financial institutions, the candidates for the role of project developer, as well as technical, financial and legal advisors and experts.