With BHP Billiton’s announcement to withdraw plans to build an aluminum smelter in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Australian firm’s prior commitment to fund the Inga 3 is now in jeopardy. The country’s energy minister Gilbert Tshiongo told Reuters that there were alternative options for investment in the Inga 3, part of the Grand Inga project that has the potential to be the world’s largest hydropower project.
The smelter would have been powered by as much as 2,000 MW from a future hydro project, and although BHP wouldn’t have been the only customer, it was the main financial backer. Ironic since the DRC snubbed other countries, like those comprising Westcor, which wanted to participate in the construction. Tshiongo said that there was a domestic and exterior demand for the Grand Inga project, but it was mainly for interior consumption.
Despite the Minister’s assurance of other alternative methods to fund the ambitious project, no other private entity has publicly announced interest in the Grand Inga.
Suggested Reading:
Is the DRC’s Grand Inga Hopeless? Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Alternative Energy