World�s Biggest Hydropower Scheme Will Leave Africans in the Dark
By Kristin Palitza
CAPE TOWN , Nov 15, 2011 (IPS) - South Africa and the Democratic
Republic of Congo have signed an agreement to build a major
hydroelectric power project, which is said to bring electricity to
more than half of the continent�s 900 million people. But economic
analysts warn that foreign investors will prevent the grid from
benefiting the general public.
Together with his Congolese counterpart President Joseph Kabila, South
African President Jacob Zuma witnessed on Nov. 12 the signing of a
deal to construct the Grand Inga Dam. Grand Inga will be built 225
kilometres southwest of the DRC capital Kinshasa, on one of the
largest waterfalls in the world, the Inga Falls, where the Congo River
drops almost a hundred metres and flows at an enormous speed of 43
cubic metres per second.
The Grand Inga hydropower project will have a capacity of 40,000
megawatts (MW) � more than twice the power generated by the Three
Gorges Dam in China, the world�s largest hydropower dam, and more than
a third of the total electricity currently produced in Africa.
"It will enhance energy access to clean and efficient energy across
the continent and contribute significantly towards a low carbon
economy and economic development," declared Zuma in the DRC�s second-
largest city Lubumbashi, where the signing took place. Zuma described
the event as "a day to prove Afro-optimists right."
Grand Inga will be the world�s largest hydropower scheme and part of a
greater vision to develop a power grid across Africa that will spur
the continent's industrial economic development. Up until now, the
power of the Inga Falls has been largely unused, with the two existing
hydroelectric dams, Inga I and Inga II, operating at a low output of
mere a 1,775 MW.
The reasons for the underutilisation of the waterfall�s power has
largely been money: The construction of Grand Inga � with completion
pegged at 2025 � comes with a whopping price tag of 80 billion
dollars. Connecting Inga to a continent-wide electricity grid will
cost at least an additional 10 billion dollars. These are not sums
South Africa and the DRC are able to bankroll alone.
But help is not far: The globe�s top development financiers, World
Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank as
well as a number of private, foreign energy companies are all keen to
contribute large sums to the Inga project. In return, they expect to
gain vast economic benefits from this mega-project � and are likely to
take away attention from the development needs of Africa�s poor
majority.
"Foreign investors are contributing to the construction of the dam to
get their share of large quantities of cheap power upon completion of
the project," warned Institute for Democracy in Africa researcher
Charlotte Johnson, who is based in South Africa. "This will force the
state�s hand � to enter into agreements concerning the final
destination and usage of the power generated."
Despite the development-focused marketing hype surrounding the
project, the Congolese government and investors have made no plans to
open the grid for public use, said Johnson. Instead, it is marketed as
a commercial product. And foreign investors will always be able to pay
more, instantly removing the poor from the consumer competition.
"Local power grids are not included in the budget. African communities
living in darkness are not the intended beneficiaries of Grand Inga,
and the 500 million people who have been promised electricity will
remain in the dark," she added.
For now, the project looks at building only long-distance transmission
lines to Africa�s mining and industrial heartlands as well as to urban
centres in South Africa, Egypt and even Europe.
According to the AfDB, a Franco-Canadian consortium is in the process
of conducting a 15 million dollar study to assess the potential for
developing the site in stages.
"This is a major investment, and it won�t be possible to mobilise
resources in one go. The final decision will of course be taken by the
DRC government," explained AfDB director of energy, environment and
climate change Hela Cheikhrouhou at the development bank�s annual
meeting in October.
According to the AfDB, hydropower represents 45 percent of power
generation potential in Sub-Saharan Africa, but only four percent has
currently been tapped. As a result, only every fifth person has access
to electricity in the region.
"To achieve energy access for all, Africa must maximise clean energy
options, emphasise energy efficiency and work with developed countries
and development institutions to quickly and effectively channel a more
substantial share of climate financing," she added.
With the backing of the world�s major development banks, the DRC and
South Africa are forging ahead with their plans to build Grand Inga.
After the signing of the agreement, Zuma and Kabila ordered the start
of negotiations for a treaty over the next six months, which will put
into effect the agreement by detailing time frames and implementation
stages for the dam construction.
Once completed, the generated electricity will be managed by the state-
owned utility companies of both countries, South Africa's Eskom and
the DRC's Societe Nationale d'Electricite Societe a Responsibilite
Limitee National. From there it will be sold to the highest bidders.
Africa�s still unconnected poor will certainly not be among those. (END)
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