Congo’s $80BN Proposal for the World's Largest Dam
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- čas přidán 10. 05. 2024
- Congo is considering building the largest hydropower station in the world, the Grand Inga Dam. The project, which would cost $80 billion USD and generate 40 GW of power, would sit along the Congo river just 220 kilometers from Kinshasa. If built, it would provide green power to millions of Africans, increasing the standard of living and positively affecting the environment. However, there are several issues with its construction. Currently, infrastructure and demand issues make it very impractical to build. Nevertheless, a smaller project could benefit the region and be worth building. And eventually, once the demand is in place, a Grand Inga Dam could finally come to fruition.
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Thank you to the following sources!
Information
www.hydropower.org/country-pr...
archive.internationalrivers.o...
assets.publishing.service.gov...
www.usaid.gov/powerafrica/dem...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_I...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inga_dams
www.banktrack.org/project/gra...
www.google.com/search?q=grand...
www.reuters.com/business/ener...
www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/3/407
Audio
Storyblocks
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---------Video Contents-------------------
00:00 - Intro
02:14 - Grand Inga
03:19 - Project Benefits
04:42 - Roadblocks
06:18 - Inga 3 - Zábava
RESPECT FOR CONGO FROM EGYPT
Congo DR should work with its neighbours and regional groups like SADC and Comesa to realize this potential!
Only sadc, forget the rest, especially eastern neighbours like Rwanda and... , criminals and thieves
This project would be SO powerful. I really really hope they manage to build it, it would be an amazing opportunity for the region.
Eventually the dam may get built. If Ethiopia can build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, at least the proposed improvements to the existing two dams seems achievable.
Ethiopian Dam is operational with one turbine working I'm pretty sure
@@samsmotzzz2171 yep. And still will keep on moving
How would it ruin Nature... :(
The dam is good but the problem with it is that Egypt and Sudan rely on it especially Egypt since most of the water in the Nile is needed for agriculture,water, and etc.. so it is controversial since economically for Ethiopia this is a game changer but for the countries like eygpt and Sudan it would devastate them
@@lone9310 - Keep in mind the dam has been filling for over a year now and some water is following through the turbines. Plus Sudanese dam immediately across the boarder downstream is releasing water into the Nile. Think Egypt needs to be concerned but in the end Ethiopia will need to let water flow to get electricity for their country. The dam was not built to provide irrigation.
Congo is just a miracle in this world.
A miracle of corruption, right?
South Africa are having major power outages right now and really needs a better solution and looks like this is it! Hope they get the necessary funding to go ahead anc complete this valuable project. Great video thanks
South African government is communist, they are daydreaming
Why make a debth trap? Solutions: 1. A smaller INGA 3. A about 2GW plant, to replace Inga 1 and 2. Not do somthing that need`s big investments (like grid upgrade). Cost Less than 1 B $, not 80. Solution 2: Why not make plant under the Capital(s)? You got 2 Capitals, whit the second largest by discharge, betheen 2 Capitals, and 21 million people! Why not make some power there. Where the Grid cost are insignificant, and the capital needs are extremly small???
South Africa needs to reinstate apartheid.
@@justin8894 Doing that will immediately get everyone else to genocide the whites.
It is not that we don't have the resources, we have enough it is just that the funding for our electricity department since it is stolen by corrupt politicians
Great video as usual
Awesome video. 😊👍
Another class upload from Futurology. Great way to kick off the day
People have to understand what it takes to build new power stations. It is not easy. Planning. Planning planning and organising
They should rent it out to a mayor energy company. A huge energy intensive industrial complex could rise from the cheap energy (chemical, steel an aluminum and/or hydrogen production for example) combined with relatively cheap labor... why not?
I think not only the power but the water could be exported to other countries.
I think South Africa could solve part of its problem by bringing the water from the highlands to its land through a pipeline.
Even the power produced in the dams could be used for the pumping of the water if the gravity running the water isnt possible.
Even SA might want to put some skin in the game.
This rived could become the largest source of export for Congo.
Like the Katse dam in Lesotho
LAISSER LE CONGO TRANQUILLE.
As a Congolese a roughly refuse this idea ! Who you think are you ?
great video, maybe the excess power could be used for a silicon fab plant for new next gen GPU's.
also could be used to make aluminum for aluminum car and aircraft parts.
Iceland uses a lot of its excess power for aluminum production.
Due to its fast rapid flow of water when it submerge in Atlantic Ocean it's water pressure makes black mark within couple of killometers in Atlantic Ocean which has been observed by space.
I love how this channel also sheds light on mega projects in central and south Africa!
*Southern Africa
@@la23s.a.22 yup
More debts for the next generation
Ethiopia 🇪🇹 built theirs for 4 billion
Cheers from west Africa
🦅
Hire the Chinese if you want to see this dam within next decade, hire Americans if you want this proposal be a talking point for next decade.
Yes hire the Chinese, and 10 years later when you can't make payments they will take your dam. The correct way is is do yourself slowly but surely, just as the Ethiopians have done.
The demand is present,Congo needs industries to process all the minerals you can think of in the world
It is not present, it exists in potential if mining increases exponentially. Even assuming that the only bottleneck for the expansion of mineral production is the lack of energy, there would be several intermediate solutions on a smaller scale. 80bi, which is projected but would likely increase, as is common in projects of this size, is more than twice the country's current GDP.
The related infrastructure roll out necessary to meet the demand that would be necessary to go for the big damn could power all of California. If it were funded by California it would not be a problem, but the Congo is a black hole of money and problems that no one would want to risk it. Straight up their are individuals who could finance it tomorrow, but why would you throw your money away in Congo. If it were Ghana or Botswana someone would go let's do it slowly, in Congo they would just laugh.
@@thokim84 What are you talking about. The congo is the twelfth largest economy in Africa. Ghana is 10th and Botswana is 25th. However, the Congo is top five in natural resources in Africa. The only real issue is corruption from the government. The region will greatly benefit from this amount of clean energy.
Hopefully the Congo can get this done as a giant step towards modernization.
Your videos are a treat to watch. Keep punching out great content!
It’s a Friday, 4th of July weekend, and a new Futurology video just dropped, can life get any sweeter?
Ikr
Yes life can get sweeter if my government stops being stupid as hell
@@U.K.N What is your country name?
America recognises that having the capital burned to the ground in 1812 counts as a loss of the most humiliating kind that would make it sweeter
Yes. Bikinis, beer, and some fireworks with friends.
Great video
Good stuff man
Nice video.
Good Ingineer work could be very succesfull - much energy&much manpower&good result. Do it. 🕊🍀🕊🗽💥❤️👍👍 for AFRICA.
Unfortunately The Grand Inga project will cost that much because of international funding with too many dodgy hands involved that will tie down Congo with huge debts. They should slowly and carefully build it themselves like Ethiopia just did, It'll cost at least half the $80Billions quoted.
Pretty sure the 80 bn includes the supplies , maintenance, research and engineering. Not to mention the billions congo has spend after it's completion . Infrastructure doesn't come free as the African man and woman wants to be paid fairly . Sadly congo cannot exploit cheap labour to get this project on the ground
the Ethiopia government much more stable and a far better corruption score.
We tpo rich the only problem is our leaders stealing the country money for their personal needs 🇨🇩❤️🤦🏿♀️💪🏿
Yes because Congo is fully corruption free and the rest of the world has 10000x higher corruption right? Whatever makea you sleep at night. The largest dam in the world you would be getting at your local electronics store.
@@Ptolemy336VV He he he he I have 2 words for You motormouth Xi Jinping
with all due respect
it's like going to people living in tents in the desert and pitch for them investing in a space station
the project is great
too great actually and it's way above the ability and even the need of the region
Good build the dam.
Would building the grand dam system diverting the flow to the new reservoir mean that the existing dams would stop receiving water and have to shut down?
Alternatively they could create green hydrigen from the electricity and ship it to europe and elsewhere. Instead of a grid, rural areas would benefit more from micro-hydro stations (without a dam) for local grids.
phase one from grand inga is inga 3, why inga 3 is expansion project from inga dams, iam very confused, inga 3 dam should be part of grand inga dam bro?
Let's also not forget the canal route that would allow ships to enter the upper Congo river as far inland as kisangani.
*AFRICA RISING!!!* 🖤❤💚
Why make a debth trap? Solutions: 1. A smaller INGA 3. A about 2GW plant, to replace Inga 1 and 2. Not do somthing that need`s big investments (like grid upgrade). Cost Less than 1 B $, not 80. Solution 2: Why not make plant under the Capital(s)? You got 2 Capitals, whit the second largest by discharge, betheen 2 Capitals, and 21 million people! Why not make some power there. Where the Grid cost are insignificant, and the capital needs are extremly small???
🇦🇫
Myślę ża budowę tam należy rozpocząć od źródła. Powino być ich setki i gdy zaczną produkować prąd powinny finansować kolejne- większe.
If African states come together anything is possible.
And there is the problem. To many corrupt leaders who want to steal so it makes working together difficult.
Exept having a liveable wage
I hope they'll decentralize the governance of this dam on Cardano. Catalyst funding would work great for it, and it could belong to everyone who wishes to own a part of ownership to vote on its water reserve governance, so that no one can seize control and abuse it. Would be amazing!
Dude , give me a break
Why make a debth trap? Solutions: 1. A smaller INGA 3. A about 2GW plant, to replace Inga 1 and 2. Not do somthing that need`s big investments (like grid upgrade). Cost Less than 1 B $, not 80. Solution 2: Why not make plant under the Capital(s)? You got 2 Capitals, whit the second largest by discharge, betheen 2 Capitals, and 21 million people! Why not make some power there. Where the Grid cost are insignificant, and the capital needs are extremly small???
@@rudynathan8852 came here to say this
@@larsfridtjofnrheim1638! Q
@Raja my name is Nathan, & it means gift from god or god given in Latin… seems to have similar roots tho, as it would be easy to see how that could mean leader as well
2:56 6:25 7:21
This dam is called Enguri and it is located in Georgia. Georgian government is founding Enguri Dam Project that will transform Enguri's full potential and make Enguri new tourists attraction. They will install the biggest screen in the world for concerts. I'm so excited to go there
Please build this
Thank you for the well researched content. This is a huge project that will require heavy investment. Phased implementation may be the ideal approach while also improving the production capacity of current HEPs
Thanks very interesting.I’m surprised the Chinese haven’t dredged the river to make it more navigable.
Interesting
Congratulations, you've earned a subscriber from this great video!
Why go to all the trouble without infrastructure or plans? They can't use 1/20th of the electricity generated. A dam will not suddenly make Congo self-sufficient, produce a workable electric grid or bring wealth.
Congo's 90 million people use 1/8 the energy of Uruguay's 3.5 million and only 18% has access to at 4 hours of power/day. Far better (but unrealistic) is allowing Western companies to make the agricultural sector efficient. Over 70% of the population farms yet it is one of the least food secure nations on Earth. It's not magic. They need tractors, seed, fertilizer and industrial farming - not a huge bragging rights dam.
Congo, the sleeping giant is finally starting to wake up!! Long live the EAC, long live DRC!!!
Question is why it has been a sleeping giant for so many centuries. Before, during,and after colonisation. Work will bring prosperity
Congo will keep sleeping for more decades, no one is waking up.
Lol we are bot making anyrhing for east africa benefit it for our benefit as a country only not east africa,or north,or south or anything but if east africans don't stop attacking congolese in east cobgo we will leave, in fact we are in central africa I still don't understand how a central african country like ours ended up in an east african community a place we don't and should not belong. But if your brothers don't stop supporting or attcking congolese in east we done
LE CONGO APPARTIENT AUX CONGOLAIS. ET NON AUX AFRICAINS, JE SUIS CONGOLAISE ET JE NE VEUX PAS DE SE PROJET
CHAQUE PAYS AFRICAINS DOIVENT SE DÉBROUILLER SEUL.
Make it a dam arcology instead, a luxurious arcology like that would easily house half a million people, thus solving most of the issues.
1: Complete formation of the East Africa Federation.
2: With a combined GDP of $. 840 Billion under East Africa Central Bank (EACB), form a body, East African Power Company, a separate entity to manage the power resources of East Africa Federation.
3: Fund the project through EACB. ( It's 10% of available resources).
4: Avail the funds to EAPC to build the dam. EAPC can open-bid the EPC part for and on behalf of EAF.
4: Let EAPC worry about transmission and delivery to the EA market and beyond.
Sit back and enjoy the fruits of an internally funded project that bypasses the hands of corrupt politicians and benefits the people.
80,000,000,000 $$$ ??? 🤷🏿♂️.
That's an extremely expensive project undertaking for a dam. It doesn't make sense. Either the contractor is over inflating the cost of the project or some kind of corruption is going on here. There is no way building that dam would cost such obscene amount of money. It's too ridiculous. But hey!!...it's Africa right!!!.. you can get away with anything.
Did you miss the part where its the biggest hydro plant in the world, by a factor of 2? There are several dams needed, and the main one is gigantic!
@@adrianthoroughgood1191 The biggest hydro plant is in China & it cost less than that amount. The three gorges dam in china spans the Yangtze River & is built in three sections.
Western Multinational companies have a habit of overinflating project costs in Africa. They take advantage of the lack of laws regulating development projects, therefore tempted to engage in mulpractices. It's the case of "when in Rome,do what the Romans do. It's basically corruption.
This is 19th century thinking. Solar plus battery is less costly, requires no long-distance transmission lines, can begin being useful to people immediately, and across the time it takes to construct the massive dam, many more people will be blessed with electricity during the time the damn is constructed. Plus, with electricity production distributed to where it is used, there is no risk of control of the dam falling into the wrong hands.
cool
this is quite a well put together presentation. but your mad use of stock footage is near epileptic. You dont need a stock footage/animation for every single word, it's just a bit nausious
I love how quickly people in the comments are at accepting this "great" project after hearing a one-sided view of it. A thinking person would certainly want to hear the other side of it.
Facts.... Africans we're so naive...
The other side of the story would be destruction of the Congo and all its eco systems, the population would boom and and seal the end of the Congo.
Gotta love the internet and youtube. Deep thinkers don't come here between Mensa meetings.
but not a pine tree. That would just sit there.
Congo is very rich with mineral resources
✌
Africa must build Gran Inga, there are no two ways about it
Inga 3 --- guarantee payments to Chinese firms via mineral resource. This way no money is handled by Congolese government personnel😂😂😂.
Chinese government should also insist the revenue from power generation be used for infrastructure, education, and healthcare. The people benefits. Congo become better and richer nation.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Ideally speaking❗❗❗
This dam must be built by African Investors, people whose countries will have mutual interests as Congo. We would need to use it as a means to train the young and change societies.
$80 billion. Nice proposal.
I have another proposal : Dyson sphere, cover the entirety of the Sun with solar panels.
Build it and the profit will come.
Sounded like a good power generation concept... until the magic words "corrupt government". When even the Chinese won't touch funding a power project like this, you know the "corrupt" is an understatement.
Seeing energy prices skyrocketing and climate change becoming worse and worse, it makes me crazy to see 40GW of cheap, green and reliable (every day, around the clock) energy flowing down to the ocean almost completely unused.
The energy could be exported in processed form, there is no need for huge power lines across thousands of kilometers. Aluminium smelters and ammonia/fertilizer plants need huge amounts of energy.
A large industrial center with a big harbour at the coast just 150km West from the Inga falls, supplied with cheap energy from Grand Inga, could provide well paid jobs for Africa, good business for the industry, steady tax income for the Congo (and neighboring countries if they shelter some of the industry), and finally combat climate change by replacing dirty aluminium and ammonia/fertilizer production sites around the world.
I'm more interested in seeing the boost in navigation for ships.
You require methane to produce fertilizers. The energy by itself is not enough. Its also very inefficient to use electrical energy for heat intensive processes. A recycling plant of scrap metal would make much more sense.
They said in the video: too corrupt country.
@@k0zzu21 There was a gaseous lake in Congo, it has one of the world's largest gas reserves. In other words, if Congo uses its resources correctly, it can extract almost unlimited natural gas and use it in its industry, or even liquefy it and export it to countries in need of energy such as Europe to generate enormous income and develop. It is a sad situation that Congoleis live in the richest country in the world and live the poorest life.
LE CONGO NE VEUT S'ASSOCIER AVEC PERSONNE.
The inga project through the OAU is inevitable Jah rastafari
Imagine how many wealthy business men could make millions off of the already stretched and suffering African continent!
With one two-mile dam at the Atlas Mountains, Congo could become mostly lake, changing the climate of Africa.
Inga 3 is 2km WEST of Inga 2, 6:45.
Top make this Project reality I would allow international companies top build the dam and use the energy. They could build aluminium smelters, hydrogen, ammonia and fertilizer production and other very energy intense industry at the coast to benefit from the green electric power.
After some decades the huge investment would be payed off and the power station would become property of the congolese state which then could sell the power to the still existing aluminium, hydrogen ... industry or use it for other purposes.
The world would receive huge amounts of green aluminium, hydrogen, ammonia, fertilizer etc. and the Congo would finally get the power station for free.
Interesting, ambitious and hopefully also financial, social and economically sustainable but only if this huge project incorporates proper safeguards to make it environmentally balanced as well! It's huge potential benefits should revert to the preservation and benefit of the local environment, improvement of the local people quality of life, and overall protection of the local ecosystems! We just don't want another Cabora Bassa that mostly benefits South Africa and international mining interests!
Africa you challenged all wourld with this marvellous project, and Congo's ambition should be unchallenged
Congo with a nominal gdp of 60 billion !
One of the projects Brics will help being to life
80 billion would build a 50kmX50km solar grid that could power the nation + most of africa's current needs.
"Transport energy to Europe" By what way? Shipping in empty power banks and charging them to transport to Europe? No way it would make any sense what so ever to transport power over such a long distance.
Congo-K should partner with other African countries, leaving out the Western world and China out of this equation. This would transform the continent to greater heights. Ethiopia turned a blind eye to the US and the Grand Renaissance Dam was established.
Congo-K can do this, with the AU behind it!!
LE CONGO RESTERA SEUL SANS LES AUTRES PAYS AFRICAINS
Here me out if the amazon is tons more in discharge value what if we proposed to dam the amazon at a spot
That price-tag is an estimate. I'd work on the assumption that it would cost at least double that, perhaps even more than $300 billion.
Africa Will be the last superpower we have not started yet.
Great great great. Making use of the natural water source before it pours to the sea. There is no need for any Congolese native to be heading to Europe or anywhere else. The have an abundance of recourses at home, same as so many African countries. Stay at home and work your own resources
With right people and government, Congo will be clean renewable energy exporter to neighboring countries
Is this a TNO reference
Interesting content but the rapid image changes are jarring
Some of the facts here are outdated!
Good video though!
The project was in the books about 7+ years ago, but someone in the government stopped it from happening ...
Qui?
if one take a look at all the tunnels being across Europe some say its a waste of money ,, but the Europe is preparing for a time when oil would be gone and air travel would be expensive so electrical trains is an excellent idea ,,,so to is this Grand Inga Dam to help develope the congo... but again Europe does not want to help develope Africa it only wants to exploit Africa...like they have done in the past,!!
Now that Congo is seeking for investment where are the west.then All of the African and the Chinese can partner and chip in a very little cents and build it though like focus on $100B. And make sure it's is finish
Foreign funding could be in the form or materials machinery and expertise in the form of engineers ect . All this could in theory be exchanged not for money or even future profits but Carbon credits . This would hopefully stop as much corruption within DRC .
What was the longest period of peace in history of independent Congo? Why would anyone invest in infrastructure in place where the next civil war is only a few years away?
One small issue here: it's Congo! You know what I mean if you've been there ...
80BN ? That’s almost double their whole economy…
i hope this is not under the BRI debt trap since they already made a lot of infrastracture in africa. it might be difficult to them to get up one day. secondly, it surely affect the supply of water below once the dam will be in place because it will take time to reach to its limit and what is worrysome is whenever the big rain will come one day and all of the sudden releases the water without prior notice like what happen in china, big flood will eventually happen. it this will be pushthrough, i hope africa will learn from chinas experience
Debt trap is a lie coined by the west. And if anyone is the expert of debt trapping, it is the imf.
Whom do you think could do good things to Africa, the West?
Where's the balance of information? What are the DOWNSIDES? or is it just money that matters?
Dam it 😬
I'm sure the corrupt Belt and Road initiative will gladly cover the cost for the project. Stipulations include 38.5% interest and rights to certain undeveloped land in the Congo along with penalty rates for late payments and the rights to Congo leaders knee caps. Also a bit of small time organ harvesting on some local indigenous population centers of 2500 people or less.
But that's all
Still would be far less that what our western investment in Africa demanded. The reason Africa signs these deals with China is the deal Europe and the US offer are far worse. All the west has to due to slow china investment in Africa is to offer fair deals, but we do not.
Nah. That'll be the The West's IMF. 🤡
LE CONGO N'APPARTIENT PAS AUX AFRICAINS MAIS AUX CONGOLAIS. LAISSER CE PEUPLE ET CE PAYS EN PAIX.
Please make a video on pakistan
Congo river's water flow is very devastating because the river having great slopes ,it is the most fast flowing river in the world so dam should be strong and most scientific.
Dump ALL incumbents.
Maybe in a hundred years Grand Inga will get built -- that is if any of us are still here.
The US and EU hates it when such projects are proposed in Africa ...they will do everything to stop such ambitions,the Imf or world bank will always find reasons not to fund such projects .
US will call it a security threat 😂😂🤣🤣😆😆
Do you seriously think we want you to stay backward and poor in order to illegally emigrate in the millions to our countries? We couldn't be happier if you lifted yourself up from poverty. As if we wouldn't benefit from it too.
World Bank doesn't want to give away free money. They want to give funds to serious governments who will not put themselves in a debt then whine for decades how unfair it is.
@@Zhiivago No one wants free money ... The Africa wants a win win outcome and that is what they have never had with west ... The west generally does not invest in projects that will super charge the economy and bring about economic indipendence ,they want all the resources with least amount of effort.
Fear the day the west wakes up and feels itself uncomfortable. Then violence will speak again:)
You Russians and Chinese do not get the point that you, with such comments, awake western imperialism. GL with that
This is a great project.
There is only one country in the world that can plan and execute such mega projects, and that is the Chinese state.
Egypt will oppose it out of habit 😂
Better would be micro wind and solar electricity generators on local communities.
Did he say power American homes as this African nations resource "figuratively" could power z America homes?
Well how my Congo houshilds could be powered ; I find that showing a bit more fitting for understanding and perspective on their project.
bien entendre de vous d´un Inga - fleuve du RDC
why not build the dam and make green hydrogen with it and sell that to European or Asian nations. If demand is not there then they can generate it.