Inga river can meet half the energy demand of Africa: official

The Inga River could meet half the energy needs of Africa if the current series of projects on the river are implemented.

The statement was made by Soteri Gatera, Chief of the industrialization and infrastructure section of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa during the 2017 World Hydro Congress held May 9-11 in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The Inga falls located in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are estimated by experts to have a total electricity generating capacity of 39,000 megawatts (MW), but it is estimated 100 billion U.S. dollars in investment will be needed to fulfill its full potential.

The Inga dam project has so far failed to materialize its maximum potential because of the civil war in DRC, the country's poor infrastructure and difficulty in securing the finance needed to realize it.

Gatera however said that Africa's massive size and geographical diversity would mean transporting and distributing energy across the continent could be even more daunting than generating energy.

"There's a need for analysis on the cost of energy in Africa where the cost of generating 1 MW of energy is at least double that of generating the same amount of energy in other parts of world," he said.

Rachel Kyte, CEO of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Initiative for One said hydro is an important pathway to development in Africa because it's a cheap and abundant form of energy.

Cheikh Bedda, Director of Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union reminded that for the continent to meet its energy target, individual nations should coordinate with each other, and their respective regional blocs. Endit