Inga III

This is a history of the Inga dams, chronicling the various studies, plans, and projects that have aimed to harness the energy of the Congo River at the site of the Inga Falls, located north of Matadi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The immense potential of the Inga Falls was recognized in the early 1900s, though the first major hydroelectric project, initiated by the Belgians, did not come until the late 1950s. Two dams were built at the site during the rule of President Mobutu Sese Seko: Inga I was commissioned in 1972 and Inga II in 1982. Since then proposals have been put forth for an Inga III as well as a Grand Inga, which if built, would be the largest hydroelectric facility in the world.

The hydropower potential of the Congo River was recognized quite early on, at a time when colonial control was expanding over Africa and rivers were first being harnessed to generate electricity. One early report on this potential came via the United States Geological Survey in 1921; their findings concluded that the Congo basin in its entirety possessed “more than one-fourth of the world’s potential water power”. Regarding the Inga Falls location specifically, this was highlighted just four years later by the Belgian soldier, mathematician, and entrepreneur Colonel Van Deuren. He would continue survey work around Inga Falls, and during the 1920s and 1930s there was some movement towards further study of the area’s potential by the group Syneba (1929–1939), yet the outbreak of World War II and the dissolution of Syneba put a temporary end to progress on the site.

Atlantropa, a scheme for integrating Europe and Africa conceived by Herman Sorgel in the 1920s, included a proposal to dam the Congo River. In this plan, the water would have been used to irrigate the deserts of North Africa, and to generate 22.5 to 45 gigawatts of power.

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