World's biggest power project in DRC draws interest from DFIs

Five development finance institutions have joined forces to advance the world's largest electricity-generation project, the Grand Inga hydropower complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been stalled for decades.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Industrial Development Corporation, both South African state banks, are collaborating with pan-African institutions — the African Development Bank and African Export-Import Bank — as well as the New Development Bank, the finance arm of the BRICS nations.

“These five parties have taken the initiative to say ‘let’s come together, let’s look at what we can do in terms of getting this goal off the ground’,” Mpho Kubelo, the DBSA’s chief risk officer said. The collaboration began after a global summit in Paris last June and is supported by the presidents of both South Africa and Congo. Additionally, South Africa has agreed to purchase some of the power generated by the project.