Africa Top Success Ils font l'Afrique
The project means a lot to Congolese government since several years. It is henceforth workable. Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) will launch in 2015 at Inga on Congo river, the building work of the biggest hydroelectric power plant of the world. With a production of 40 000 MW, the project « Grand Inga » will at the end supply with electricity half of African continent » indicated the communiqué.
Inga 3 Low Fall, the first stage of this ambitious project will produce a power of 4800 MW. More than half of this production (2500 MW) will be bought by South Africa. « By these cooperation agreements, South Africa is planning to buy a good part of electricity production of the new dam, asserting itself so as a key partner. South Africa would so take 2500 MW over 4800 MW of power of the future Inga 3 Low Fall, becoming actually reference buyer », specified the communiqué taken back by direct.cd.
According to the same source, three big building companies are fighting for the execution of the project. They are Chinese giants Sinohydro and Three Gorges Corporation, developers of Chinese dam of Three Gorges (the 1st in the world), Spaniards Actividades de Construccion y Servicios (ACS) and the Corean-Canadians Daewoo, Posco and SNC LAVALIN.
The already existing Inga I and Inga II power plants in a state of advanced collapse, supply only 40 % of their production capacity. Built in 1972, Inga power plant supplies 351 MW. Inga II started up in 1982 is endowed with a power of 1429 MW.
Before Grand Inga, government announced Inga III, a kind of transition towards Grand Inga that will produce 4320 MW. The project estimated at 8 billion USD interests World Bank, African Development Bank and French Agency of development.
The 10 biggest hydroelectric power plants of the world
1 Three-Gorges dam (China) 22 500 MW
2 Itaipu dam (Brazil / Paraguay) 14 000 MW
3 Guri dam (Venezuela) 10 200 MW
4 Tucuruí dam (Brazil) 8 3702 MW
5 Robert-Bourassa dam (Canada) 7 7223 MW
6 Grand Coulee dam (US) 6 809 MW
7 Longtan dam (China) 6 426 MW
8 Saïano-Chouchensk dam (Russia) 6 400 MW
9 Krasnoïarsk dam (Russia) 6 000 MW
10 Power station Churchill Falls (Canada) 5 4283,6 MW
Original text by: Roger ADZAFO
