There are big aspirations for Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, Inga III that is set to be built in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But analysts are sceptical that such an ambitious project will ever in fact be realised due to the project being spoken about for many years with no progress being made towards implementation.

Earlier this year Congolese minister of Energy, Bruno Kapandji, made the announcement that the project was moving forward, adding that that Inga III would generate 4 800 MW. The project will be constructed on the site of two existing dams on the lower Congo River in western DRC. INGA III would be built on one of the largest waterfalls in the world, the Inga Falls, where the Congo River drops almost a hundred metres and flows at an enormous speed of 43 m³per second. South Africa is both a partner in and the major client of the project.

Independent economists initially praised the vision behind Inga III, but now express concerns about whether it would ever go ahead.

Inga III will require US$12 billion in total, with dam construction costs estimated at US$8.5 billion of this amount. The project would take six years to complete.

Major concerns are based around the multi-national funding of the project, the instability of the DRC, the generation of electricity but no transmission or distribution and the policy regarding multi-national transmission and distribution.