Name and Location
Western Power Corridor (Westcor) development, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Project Description
The proposed project will entail the development of Inga 3, which will include the construction of the 3 500 MW Inga 3 hydropower station in the DRC.

According to the Southern African Power Pool proposal, the power generated at the power plant will be transmitted by means of two 400 kV high-voltage ac lines to Capanda power station, in Angola.

Two multiterminal high-voltage dc (HVdc) systems, comprising transmission lines stretching 3 000 km, will be established through Angola, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

With tap-offs at Auas, in Windhoek, and at Gaborone, the two HVdc circuits will terminate at the Eskom national grid at Omega, close to Koeberg, in the Western Cape, and at Pegasus, at Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal.

The project includes the promotion and possible development of the Grand Inga in the DRC, with a potential supply of 40 000 MW of emission-free capacity. Upgrades for the two existing stations, Inga 1 and Inga 2, will be included in the HVdc installation cost.

Further, Westcor, which is developing the project, will engineer the hydroelectric potential of the Kwanza basin, in northern Angola, estimated to be 6 700 MW.

The project also plans to build interconnections strung with fibre optics for broadband telecommunication links to be leased to operators; it will also increase trade in electricity by investing in joint venture projects that will allow sharing of capital.

The goal of the project is to provide low-cost affordable and environment-friendly energy and to ensure that economic development in the region is not constrained by shortages in energy capacity. Should the project go ahead, it will create three companies to execute the operation – an electricity generation company, an electricity transmission company and a telecommunications company.

Value
$8.5-billion.

Duration
The prefeasibility study for the baseload capacity station was completed at the end of 2007.

Client
Initially, Westcor, which was formed by five Southern African power utilities, each of which contributed $100 000 as start-up funding, was going to develop, own, manage, maintain, operate and promote the Inga project. However, the DRC requested to be the sole developer of the project, and this led to the withdrawal of the other four countries. Westcor comprised the Botswana Power Corporation; Empressa Nacional de Electricidade, of Angola; Eskom, of South Africa; Nampower, of Namibia; and Société Nationale d'Électricité, of the DRC.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
The African Development Bank ($14-million grant).

Latest Developments
South Africa and the DRC have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which the two countries hope will facilitate a fresh and more inclusive approach to the development of the mega hydropower project.

South Africa’s Energy Minister, Dipuo Peters, and her DRC counterpart, Gilbert Tshongo, signed the deal at a ceremony in Lubumbashi, presided over by Presidents Jacob Zuma and Joseph Kabila.

The MoU came nearly six months after Southern African Development Community (SADC) Energy Ministers reportedly decided to abandon the Westcor structure, which had been set up in 2004 to oversee the development of the first phase of the hydro scheme and the associated transmission infrastructure.

The entity focused mainly on the development of the Inga 3 site, which was expected to be able to deliver some 5 000 MW of hydropower capacity.

However, a number of other SADC member States were reportedly unhappy about having been excluded, while the DRC also had some misgivings about the implementation model being proposed. Initiatives were made during the course of 2011 to facilitate a more inclusive arrangement.

Development finance institutions will reportedly support a new set of feasibility studies to reassess ways of unlocking the power and resources associated with the Inga project. It is also likely that the new implementation model will seek participation from other African countries to the north of the DRC.

Director-general of South Africa’s Department of Energy Nelisiwe Magubane says there is opportunity to harness not only the power potential, but also the Congo river’s water resources in support of those countries in the region that are water-stressed.

However, she acknowledges that actual project implementation is probably some way off, as there now are plans to craft a legally binding treaty to create the framework for future investment and project implementation.

A technical committee, comprising senior officials from South Africa and the DRC and led by a Ministerial Commission will oversee the finalisation of the treaty.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Westcor, tel +267 392 3534, fax +267 392 3549.