Keypoints:
- World Bank injects $1bn into DR Congo’s Grand Inga
- Inga III phase gets $250m to start studies
- Project aims to electrify Africa and triple access in DR Congo
THE World Bank has pledged $1bn to support the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Grand Inga hydropower project — a bold vision that could make Africa home to the world’s largest power plant.
Announced by World Bank President Ajay Banga, the funding forms part of the bank’s ‘Mission 300’ initiative, which aims to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.
Out of the total commitment, $250 million is earmarked for the Inga III phase — the crucial next step in DR Congo’s decades-old ambition to transform its immense river energy into a continental power source.
A hydropower giant in the making
Set at Inga Falls on the Congo River, about 150 kilometres from the Atlantic coast, the Grand Inga project could eventually deliver more than 40,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity — nearly double the capacity of China’s Three Gorges Dam, the current global leader in hydropower.
Inga I and II, completed in 1972 and 1982, are currently undergoing rehabilitation. Inga III, the next and most pivotal phase, is expected to generate up to 11,000 MW — over three times DR Congo’s current total output.
The Grand Inga’s design envisions power exports across the continent. South Africa has committed to 2,500 MW, Nigeria has expressed interest in 3,000 MW, with 1,300 MW reserved for DR Congo’s mining sector and 1,000 MW for the national utility, SNEL.
Electricity for millions still in the dark
Currently, fewer than one in five Congolese citizens has access to electricity. The government plans to triple access by 2030. The $250 million from the World Bank will fund feasibility studies, stabilise the national grid, and make SNEL more efficient to attract private investment.
The overall cost of Inga III is estimated at around $13.9bn, while the full Grand Inga complex could exceed $80bn. During a Mission 300 event in Dar es Salaam earlier this year, DR Congo presented a $36bn national energy roadmap aimed at unlocking these resources.
Banga said the World Bank’s initiative could attract as much as $85bn in private capital to African energy infrastructure, with Grand Inga seen as a flagship opportunity.
Hurdles ahead, but hope rising
The Inga dream has stumbled before, dogged by high costs, political instability, and investor scepticism. But supporters argue that the prize is too great to ignore: a pan-African energy solution rooted in a single river.
With fresh World Bank backing and regional political will, DR Congo’s hydropower ambitions are no longer just talk — they are beginning to take shape.
