On the sidelines of the Arab-American Islamic Summit in Riyadh, Gabonese president Ali Bongo Ondimba, provided an update on a project to build a hydroelectric dam at Tsengue-Leledi Falls. The project is to be financed by sovereign wealth funds and Russian banks.
There have been two MoUs signed regarding the project, the first was signed in July 2015, while a second agreement was signed with the current Minister of Water and Energy. The second MoU paves the way for impact and feasibility studies.
A promising site for the dam was identified by Electricité de France (EDF) in the 1960s. "Unlike the other three Ivindo waterfalls, the Tsengue-Leledi waterfall has a fairly simple configuration and lends itself relatively well to hydroelectric development. The fall and its immediate surroundings are notched in a granite of good behavior,†EDF said at the time.
The site has an average flow rate of 650 million cubic meters per year, which allows for a guaranteed power generating capacity of 180 MW.