DRC’s Portes de l’Enfer Hydropower Project Expands to 132 MW
DRC’s Portes de l’Enfer Hydropower Project Raises Capacity Estimate to 132 MW
The Portes de l’Enfer hydropower project in Kongolo, Tanganyika Province, is attracting renewed investor interest after its proposed generation capacity was increased to 132 MW, nearly four times the 36 MW estimate identified in a 2021 World Bank mapping exercise.
The project was discussed on September 1, 2026, when DRC Water Resources and Electricity Minister Aimé Sakombi Molendo met representatives of Stargate and Belgian construction group BESIX to explore investment opportunities in the country’s hydropower sector.
According to the ministry, the companies expressed interest in participating in the Portes de l’Enfer project and outlined potential areas of involvement.
The ministry said feasibility studies are already available and that potential electricity demand, particularly from industrial users, has been identified.
However, it has not disclosed who conducted the studies, when they were completed or the technical assumptions behind the revised 132 MW capacity estimate.
The larger capacity could improve the project’s commercial potential by providing additional electricity for industrial activity while contributing to the DRC’s broader efforts to expand domestic power generation.
The renewed interest comes as the DRC seeks to unlock more of its substantial hydropower resources and attract private capital into power infrastructure.
For investors, Portes de l’Enfer offers an opportunity to develop a mid-sized hydropower project in a country where reliable electricity remains critical to industrialisation, mining and economic growth.
The next stage will be to advance technical and financial assessments and determine the structure required to bring the 132 MW project to development.
