Infrastructure Brief

News and opinion on public works procurement

Congo News

  • Congo News|
  • Featured

    • DRC Blocks Katanga Gecamines Land Deal

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    By Kevin Davids

    Katanga Mining has been ordered to withhold about $250 million earmarked as payment for a land deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Gécamines as an investigation into the state miner’s executives continue.

    Katanga’s subsidiary Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) agreed in December to buy land next to its mine from Gécamines and said it would pay an initial $150 million.

    However, Congolese prosecutors have issued an injunction preventing the company from consummating the deal until the investigation, announced in December, has concluded.

    “KCC has provided notice to Gécamines that the order constitutes a force majeure under the agreement and that its obligations under the agreement are suspended,” Katanga said Tuesday.

    Prosecutors in the DRC are investigating a €200 million (US$219 million) line of credit issued to Gécamines by a company owned by Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, who is subject to US sanctions.

    The land in question includes multiple blocks for construction of a new long-term tailings facility and the possible exploitation of additional resources that would enhance KCC’s ability to more efficiently operate its mines and facilities and fulfil other key infrastructure requirements.

    Katanga also said it would delay the commissioning of its acid plant to the second half of the year due to delays caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The previous target had been by end June.

    KCC is 75%-owned by Katanga and produced 234,500 tonnes copper and 17,100t cobalt last year. It is an important growth project for Swiss-based Glencore, and the construction of a new acid plant would help cut costs at the operation. The Katanga mine complex has the potential to become the world’s largest producer of copper and cobalt.

  • Congo News

    • DRC To Begin 30 Day Coronavirus Lockdown

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    By Kevin Davids

    A 30 day lockdown and curfew decreed in the Republic of Congo. An announcement made by the president Denis Sassou Nguesso, 24 hours after the confirmation of 15 new coronavirus cases.

    This brings the total number of cases to 19 as at Saturday March 28 when the president addressed the nation. The move is part of efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Measures will come into force from 31 March in this oil-producing country of about five million inhabitants.

    The night time curfew is scheduled from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time, while the restrictions concern the entire population “except those working to provide essential goods and services,” according to the head of state.

    The Congolese president also announced a “state of health emergency.” Mitigation efforts include the creation of a National Solidarity Fund to support businesses, compensate for loss of income from assets and help vulnerable people.

    The countries is entering lockdown at a time when two patients recovered, according to a press release from government spokesman and information Minister, Thierry Moungala.

  • Congo News|
  • Featured

    • DRC Declares State Of Emergency, Closes Borders

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    By Kevin Davids

    Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has declared a countrywide state of emergency, and shut down national borders in a bid to stop the potential spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Speaking on national television on Tuesday night, the DRC leader said the move had been occasioned by the rising numbers of new infections for Covid-19.

    “In view of the gravity and the dangerous nature of this situation, I declare a state of emergency taking into account the security situation which prevails at the moment in our country in connection with the Coronavirus pandemic”, said Tshisekedi.
    DRC reported one cured patient on Tuesday, but then reported new cases on the same day. By Tuesday night, 48 people had been confirmed infected, according to Health Minister Eteni Longido.

    The presidential decree means there will no longer be passenger flights from Kinshasa to the provinces and vice versa, until the state of emergency is lifted.

    The country is also shutting down its land, sea and air borders to passenger, private or commercial travel.

    But freight services and emergency transportation would be spared with their crews strictly screened before admittance.
    The head of state also ordered the “establishment of minimum services within services and institutions.”

    DRC, still smarting from an Ebola scourge has some of the poorest health systems in Africa.

    With Coronavirus, the population has been largely in panicky mode as seen on Monday when a plan landed with passengers showing symptoms in Lubumbashi, the capital of southeasten province of Haut-Katanga.

    “The two suspected cases have been tested negative by the laboratory of the national biomedical research institute,” said Félix Tshisekedi.

    With reports that chloroquine can fight against the Coronavirus, the Congolese head of state instructed the “task force” of the fight against Covid-19 to “be able to reflect on this opportunity to eradicate the Coronavirus virus pandemic.”

  • Africa|
  • Congo News|
  • Energy|
  • Water

    • DRC Moves To Revive Grand Inga Dam Project

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    By Kevin Davids

    The Democratic Republic of Congo is looking to breathe new life into the Grand Inga Dam project, which is said to be the world’s largest proposed hydroelectric scheme that could produce sufficient energy to power east, central and southern African countries.

    The project on the Congo River could have up to eight separate dams that would produce 43,500MW (4.35GW) of electricity – more than twice the power generation of Three Gorges Dam in China, and over a third of the total electricity currently produced in Africa.

    But since mooted ten years ago, it has faced delay over several issues such as contractors, timelines and funding sources for the $80 billion needed to finance the construction of the dams and the establishment of transmission lines.

    That will be the focus of discussions when leaders from concerned regions meet in a conference next month, which is organized by President Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC and is expected to be attended by delegates from Angola, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. The April 28 meeting in Kinshasa is backed by the African Union while Egyptian head Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and potential investors have been invited to help kick off the project.

    In addition to discussing the feasibility of the Inga Dam project, officials say the move by Tshisekedi is meant to garner regional political support for the mega power project that is seen as the ultimate solution for Africa’s power shortage and green energy.

    DRC hosts the largest concentration of hydropower potential in the world at the Inga Falls, about 150 km from the mouth of the Congo River. With this, the country could provide a significant portion – up to 40 percent – of Africa’s electricity demand but harnessing that potential has not been particularly easy.

    The country presently has two Inga projects that were completed in the 1970s and 1980s respectively. And in late 2018, authorities announced a deal for a Spanish-Chinese consortium to develop the Inga 3 project on the Congo River rapids, which is one of the world’s most powerful and centre to the country’s energy plans.

    But the joint venture idea was resisted last year. Spanish firm ACS withdrew from the possible consortium that included China’s Three Gorges Corp and could have seen $14 billion invested in the third dam with funding from the African Development Bank.“There has been an Inga 3 development agreement for a few years now. But we can go from Inga 1 to Inga 8,” DRC Minister of Water Resources and Energy, Eustache Muhanzi Mubembe, said.

    General Electric has been contracted to renovate the neglected Inga 1 and 2 dams and will be working on Inga 3 after signing an agreement worth $1 billion – the largest U.S. investment in Congo. But the deal with the American firm does not prevent other partners from being part of the project, according to Mubembe.

    “The development agreement remains open. We have had Chinese and Spanish contractors since 2016 on the Inga 3 development agreement. And there are Spanish contractors who have left the agreement. Nobody chased them away. The DRC would like to have everyone in it. Americans, Chinese, Indians, Egyptians…are all welcome,” the minister was quoted as saying by The East African.

    AfDB will be funding the redesign of the Inga 3 dam, Tshisekedi said in a recent State of the Nation address. That would raise the output from the initial 4,800 megawatts to reach 11,000 megawatts or more, and Inga could make DRC “the heart of the world’s clean energy production system,” the President added.

    With AfDB’s permission, the DRC is now inviting bidders while officials are in talks with the regional bank for an agreed date to commence construction. Confirmation is expected in the next few days, Mubembe said.

    A major and recurrent barrier to implementing the hydropower project after many years of conception was the political instability in the DRC. With relative stability now in the country after President Tshisekedi came into power last year, the DRC is moving fast to revive the mega-project that could also help save its endangered forest resources.

  • Congo News|
  • Featured|
  • Water

    • Inga Dam In DRC Could Be Africa’s Answer To Electricity Crisis

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    By Peter Orengo

    Most African nations are faced with an electricity crisis where by national supply has recorded deficits in recent years.

    Focus is now shifting to the Inga Dam, a massive water reservoir in the Democratic Republic of Congo, that could power most of the continent’s hydro-electricity supply.

    Power Africa, an initiative of the United States government, aims to create 60 million connections for first-time users and generate 30,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030.

    Since its launch in 2013, the initiative has enabled some 15 million new connections providing first-time electricity access to 68 million homes and businesses.

    The problem, however, remains huge with close to 600 million people not having access to electricity. Lack of electricity or chronic under-supply of secure and affordable electricity is a barrier to growth, job creation and poverty reduction. This is a problem.

    Should the Grand Inga Dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo be complete, it would meet the 30,000 MW target at one go, and much sooner.

    The dam is designed to exploit up to 40,000 MW of electricity from the Congo River. This would be more than enough to cater for the current deficit.

    This, however, is unlikely. At the moment, the development of the dam is experiencing a tumble of different opinions. While the current plan was to develop generating 11,050 MW under Inga Dam III project, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi has expressed a preference for a smaller 4,800 MW plant.

    It is true that feasibility studies for the smaller plant were financed by the African Development Bank in 2013, but concern has been expressed about the smaller plant. This has created confusion about the overall status of Inga III and not least the Grand Inga Dam.

    To put the Inga dam aside for a moment, Africa as a whole has a huge potential for hydropower power generation estimated at 350 GW, more than ten times the Power Africa target.

    But tapping this power is not viable. There are a couple of practical challenges cited by researchers. The increasing public opposition to hydropower is one of the challenges, particularly due to the environmental and social impact of large and mega-dams.

    Hydropower dams may require flooding large land areas, potentially displacing communities and reducing temporarily the flow of water available for other uses downstream, such as agriculture.

    The other challenge is the adverse impact of climate change and rainfall variability on hydropower generation. Several African countries are already experiencing severe power disruption as a result of low water levels in lakes and reservoirs — Kenya for example, before the current rains.

    Technology may step in. Renewable sources of energy ate now viable as their cost has drastically fallen. Their potential could not only complement the hydropower already in use but far surpasses it making doubtful whether the Inga dam is worth looking up to.

    Solar energy, for instance, has potential for 1000 GW, more than 30 times the Power Africa target of 30 GW. It is also well distributed across Africa. However, so far, less than 1 GW is being utilised, this is including planned installations.

    In 2018 in Rwanda, solar power installation was 12 MW and growing. It is one of the countries including Ethiopia, Morocco and Kenya that have been attracting large investments in renewable energy.

    Wind energy with potential for 110 GW is less well distributed. In East Africa, the best wind quality can be found in the horn of Africa and along the Great Rift Valley in Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

    The potential for solar energy has been receiving a lot of attention and promises much.

    According to one World Economic Forum (WEF) analysis, distributed renewable energy in Africa – which includes mini-grids and solar infrastructure for households, businesses, and productive purposes like irrigation – already directly employs as many workers as traditional power utilities.

    Another of its analysis explains that for every job created directly by a private firm delivering electricity to rural communities via decentralized renewables, five “productive use” jobs (based on the application of a distributed renewable-energy product or service) may be created in the communities being electrified.

    Some of these jobs are in solar-powered milling, dairy processing, or cold chain storage facilities. Gains have been made that African governments should accelerate.

    The two major emerging economies, China and India, are leading in the global renewable energy transition, particularly in wind and solar development which presents an opportunity on how it can be accelerated through south-south cooperation and trade.

    The cooperation, observes one researcher, should bring higher availability and affordability of equipment as well as accumulated experience in renewable energy policy and business in the context of developing energy markets.

    In the meantime, Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure is mobilising $1.5 billion to connect all 3.8 million households to electricity by 2024. So far, 1.4 million households have been connected.

  • Congo News

    • Mbanza Congo Airport Project Takes Off

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    By Kenneth Mwangi

    The public tender for the construction of the new Mbanza Congo airport will be launched within two months, said the chairman of the Board of Directors of Angola’s airport management company, Empresa Nacional de Exploração de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea (ENANA).

    Manuel Ceita also told daily newspaper Jornal de Angola that the construction of the new airport in an inhospitable area will allow for the development of the region with the construction of houses and businesses to provide services to residents.

    The future airport of Mbanza Congo will be located in Nkiende II, 35 kilometres from Mbanza Congo, the capital of the province of Zaire. When it is in operation, it will be able to receive Boeing 737 and Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft and have a terminal with capacity for 600 passengers.

    The ENANA chairman said that meetings with the National Civil Aviation Institute will be held to discuss the construction of the new airport and told the newspaper that, “we will recover and modernise 20 airports in the country, with a view to ensuring a greater flow of domestic and foreign passengers and encouraging private investment.”