Nigeria, South Africa reaffirm Inga 3 offtake plans

Despite environmental campaigns against the Inga project, renewed support from Nigeria and South Africa has boosted optimism over its future both at the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity and at the Société Nationale d’Electricité (Snel). “Don’t forget that this is a Congolese project that will be implemented anyway, with whoever is ready to embark on it,” a ministry official told African Energy. South Africa’s Eskom has already come forward as an anchor client, with an agreement to offtake 2,500MW from the 113-metre Inga 3 Basse Chute dam project (4,800MW), while Nigeria has expressed strong interest in an additional 2,400MW that will be generated by the second phase of Inga 3, the 7,200MW Inga 3 Haute Chute, which will raise the dam by 40 metres.