Flipping the switch on Inga 3?
The SA government remains committed to its Inga 3 hydropower project with the DRC. But a recent report raises doubts about its feasibility
Delays to the ambitious Inga 3 hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could be aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, but SA has vowed to honour its commitment to the project — for the sake of the continent.Inga 3 is expected to add 2,500MW (about 5%) to SA’s energy mix by 2030. But critics have warned that the project, to which then president Jacob Zuma first pledged support in 2011, is unaffordable and impractical.In a recent report, "I Need You, I Don’t Need You: SA and Inga 3", the New York-based Congo Research Group and Cape Town-based Phuzumoya Consulting warn that the $14bn project will be "risky and may be more expensive than most other [power] sources available".It quotes Eskom’s head of grid planning, Mbulelo Kibido, as saying that the transmission line to SA, estimated to be over 2,000km, is unaffordable. "Inga makes no business sense for us," he said. "And there is no budget for it." (Pressure group International Rivers puts the cost of Inga 3 at as m...
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