Félix Tshisekedi announces upcoming Pan-African Conference on Grand Inga Project | DRC
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi announced the upcoming high-level conference on the Grand Inga project at the Council of Ministers on Friday, June 12. The high-level meeting, which will be held in two phases, in June and September-October 2020 respectively, will present the DRC’s hydroelectric opportunities.
“This special conference, which will take place in two stages during this month of June and September-October 2020, will, among other things, present the current and future opportunities of the Grand Inga Project and promote the full hydroelectric potential of the Democratic Republic of Congo.” reads the minutes of last week’s Council of Ministers meeting.
For the government, this meeting of heads of state aims to encourage “the purchase of energy to be produced” by this great project.
The Minister of Hydraulic Resources and Electricity was tasked, in collaboration with the Office of the President of the Republic, SNEL SA and various other stakeholders, to take all the steps to prepare for the holding of these meetings.
The total cost of Grand Inga Project (Inga III) is estimated at $14 billion. The project is expected to generate 25,000 jobs, including 10,000 permanent positions, but the effective start date has not yet been announced. Most of the production in the DRC is carried out by the Inga I dams (opened in 1971) and Inga II (opened in 1982). Both are located on the Congo River, downstream from Kinshasa.
