South African President Jacob Zuma and DRC President Joseph Kabila attended a meeting at the weekend to witness the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the two countries, which could lead to the joint development of the major new project.
According to newswire reports, the agreement would pave the way for the national utilities of the both countries – Eskom and Societe Nationale d’Electricite Societe a Responsibilite Limitee National (SNEL) – to facilitate the project. Following the signing of the MOU, negotiations for a treaty to give effect to the MoU are expected to start immediately, to be concluded over the next six months.
If it goes ahead, the Grand Inga project, to be located on the Congo River, would significantly increase Africa’s power generation capacity.
Earlier this year, a joint venture of Aecom and Électricité de France (edf) were been awarded a US$13.4M contract to conduct the feasibility studies for the Grand Inga site.
