Inga dam

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Inga dam
Inga I dam with branching canal to Inga II
Inga I dam with branching canal to Inga II
location
Inga Dam (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Inga dam
Coordinates 5 ° 31 '0 "  S , 13 ° 37' 15"  E Coordinates: 5 ° 31 '0 "  S , 13 ° 37' 15"  E
country Democratic Republic of the Congo
Waters Congo River
f1
power plant
Start of operation 1972
technology
Bottleneck performance 230 megawatts
Turbines 14th
Others

The Inga Dam are two dams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the Inga Falls where the Congo River falls 100 m. In terms of their output, they are the largest hydropower plants in sub-Saharan Africa .

history

The Belgian colonial politician Alphonse-Jules Wauters first expressed ideas about the use of the breakthrough valley and the rapids of the Congo in the Cristal Mountains of the Lower Guinea Sill for a hydroelectric power station in 1885 . In the period from 1925 to 1928, the first project work in this regard was carried out under the direction of Pierre Van Deuren, which was not implemented promptly. It wasn't until 1952 that the construction of an aluminum smelter on the Atlantic coast was discussed that the possibility of generating energy was taken up again at this point. The Belgian cabinet decided in 1957 to move forward with the hydropower project. The project retained its economic importance after the former colony became independent. In 1963, the Congolese government initiated appropriate feasibility studies. Since the industrialization of Bas-Zaïre was expected to advance , the Office National du Développment de la Zone d'Influence d'Inga (ONII) was founded. In the course of this development, the decision to build a power station was made in 1966 and work began in 1968. Funding at that time came from funds from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Italy and the European Development Fund .

Inga I was put into operation in 1972, ten years later Inga II was completed. There are also plans for two more dam projects.

Inga I and II

Pipelines of the Inga I hydropower plant

Inga I is equipped with six turbines with an output of 58.5  MW each, Inga II has eight turbines, each of which can achieve an output of 178 MW. From 2005 the repair of the hydropower plants took place with the support of the World Bank. The repair of Inga I was mainly carried out by German companies, the work on four of the Inga II turbines was carried out by a subsidiary of the Canadian MagIndustry Corp. which in return received exclusive electricity supplies for a magnesium production plant in Pointe-Noire in the neighboring state.

Despite the maintenance and newly installed machines, the targeted capacity could not be achieved - also due to increasing silting - of their possible power plant output of 1,750 MW they achieved less than a quarter in May 2008, the energy obtained is mainly via the HVDC Inga-Shaba for used in mining in the Katanga region, which is rich in raw materials, with a focus on copper extraction.

Inga III

Inga I and II with the planned Inga III dam

In addition to the two existing dams, a third power plant, Inga III, is planned. The possible output should be 3,500 to 4,300 MW. A public-private partnership between the government and the mining company BHP Billiton , which wanted to build an aluminum plant in Congo Central, is being discussed as a financing partner . In February 2012, however, the group withdrew from the negotiations.

In October 2012, a spokesman for the responsible body announced that the government was speculating on funding from a group of donors, including the World Bank and the African Development Bank . The construction work with a duration of 6 years is to begin in 2016 [obsolete] , the costs in autumn 2012 were 9 billion US dollars. There are currently three groups of bidders in the competition: A Chinese merger of China Three Gorges Corporation and Sinohydro Corporation , a Spanish duo of Grupo ACS and Eurofinsa, and the two Korean companies Daewoo Corporation and POSCO together with the Canadian company SNC Lavalin .

The tender results should be evaluated from November 2012. Between the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, the government put out several contracts for external consultants, both for technical matters and for the implementation of procurement procedures. a. the Inga project should also belong.

Grand Inga

planned dam Grand Inga with planned reservoir after diversion of the Congo

In contrast to Inga I, II and III, which branch off water from the Congo through canals, the Grand Inga dam project is planning a complete diversion and damming of the Congo for energy generation. With a potential output of 39–45,000 MW, such a dam would be the most powerful hydroelectric power plant in the world, it would more than double the output of the Three Gorges Dam and could meet a large part of the African energy demand. The realization of the idea is expected to cost 80 billion US dollars. Not least this amount, which could stir up corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and would place the country in front of an enormous mountain of debt, arouses criticism of the project. The ecological consequences, the strong centralization of the energy supply and the likely lack of compensation to the local population are also arguments of the critics against the construction. In the summer of 2012, a contract was signed between the two governments of the Republic of Congo and South Africa, which should enable joint feasibility studies to be carried out on the project.

For Grand Inga, the end of the first construction phase by 2025 was Template: future / in 5 yearsexpected in December 2011 . Their capacity would be 6 gigawatts, which could be expanded to 39 gigawatts. In May 2013 it was announced that construction could start in October 2015. 4.8 gigawatts are to be produced in the first phase and 40 gigawatts at the end of the project.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernd Wiese: Zaire: National nature, population, economy . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft , Darmstadt 1980, pp. 203-206
  2. ↑ a b MagEnergy Concludes INGA II Rehabilitation Agreement . In: Business Wire, May 31, 2005 (via findarticles.com, accessed June 15, 2008)
  3. ↑ a b c Nevin, Tom: Grand Inga - reality or pipe dream? . In: African Business, Edition 343, June 2008, pp. 32–34.
  4. ↑ Inga 3 ( Memento of the original from August 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . International Rivers (accessed June 15, 2008)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.internationalrivers.org
  5. ↑ a b Tristan Coloma: Inga, greatest force in Africa , Le Monde diplomatique No. 9442 of March 11, 2011, accessed December 15, 2011
  6. ^ DR Congo Inga Three Dam: BHP Billiton withdraws custom , BBC, February 16, 2012, accessed November 5, 2012.
  7. ↑ a b Gabriella Mulligan: Congo's $ 9 Billion Hydropower Plant To Supply Power To Southern Africa ( Memento of the original from February 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Ventures Africa, October 19, 2012, accessed November 5, 2012  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ventures-africa.com
  8. ^ DR Congo seeks procurement, financial experts for Inga hydroelectric complex, other projects , hydroworld.com, January 7, 2013, accessed on February 2, 2013
  9. ↑ DR Congo seeks experts to study Inga project, transmission , hydroworld.com, December 6, 2012, accessed on February 2, 2013
  10. ↑ Terri Hathaway: Congo's Inga: Great Power for Whom? ( Memento of the original from May 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . International Rivers, August 1, 2006 (accessed June 15, 2008)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.internationalrivers.org
  11. ^ Controversy over Africa's super dam . Süddeutsche.de, April 22, 2008 (accessed June 15, 2008)
  12. ↑ Terence Creamer: SA approves Grand Inga power treaty with DRC , Engineering News, August 22, 2012, accessed November 5, 2012
  13. ^ DR Congo giant hydro dam work starts 2015. News.com.au, May 20, 2013 , accessed May 23, 2013.

Web links

Commons : Inga Falls and Inga Dam  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files