The files we follow: Geopolitics of transboundary water resources
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On October 2, 2024, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced a multi-year program worth nearly $1 billion, in partnership with the World Bank, to develop the Inga III hydropower project. This project aims to harness the potential of the Congo River with a planned capacity of 11,000 MW and an estimated cost of $14 billion.
The Congo River, the second-longest in Africa and the most powerful globally in terms of discharge (41,000 m³/s), has long been a strategic resource for Central Africa. The Inga I and Inga II dams, built in 1972 and 1982 under Mobutu Sese Seko, were the first attempts to exploit its hydroelectric potential. Located about 225 km from Kinshasa, these dams were designed to supply electricity to the mining industries in Katanga, the capital, and neighboring countries like Angola. However, issues such as poor maintenance, mismanagement, and corruption reduced their effectiveness, and by 2014, only 50% of their total capacity was operational.
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