The US may partner with Chinese firms to finance the US$12bn Inga 3 dam project located in DR Congo, according to an NGO
Peter Bosshard, policy director of US-based NGO International Rivers, said that US Agency for International Development (USAID) was keen on co-operating with Chinese firms to fund the Inga 3 project.
A USAID spokesperson said, “USAID continues to work with a wide range of partners to determine whether an Inga dam project would be financially, environmentally, socially, and politically viable. USAID continues to work to improve access to electricity in the Democratic Republic of Congo and sub-Saharan Africa.”
The Inga 3 dam, part of the Grand Inga plan, is a US$80bn complex of 11 dams and six hydropower projects on the Congo River in the African nation with a combined capacity of 40,000MW. this project is likely to dwarf China’s Three Gorges Dam — world’s biggest dam, which has a capacity of 22,500 MW.
The DR Congo government has, meanwhile, prequalified three consortia to bid for this project — Chinese consortium consisting of Sinohydro and China Three Gorges Corporation, a Spanish consortium and a partnership between SNC-Lavalin of Canada and two South Korean firms namely Posco and Daewoo.
The government will select a bidder by July 2014, sources said.
