US mulling partnership with China in Congo Inga 3 dam project

In an unusual move, the US government is considering partnering with Chinese state firms in financing the US$12 billion Inga 3 dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the world's costliest and possibly most controversial dams.

A Chinese consortium comprising Sinohydro and China Three Gorges Corp, both state-owned enterprises (SOEs), are bidding for the project, according to media reports.

If the Chinese consortium wins the contract, this will be the biggest overseas dam contract ever won by Chinese firms.

Inga 3 will have a capacity of 4,800 megawatts (MW) and is one of the largest hydropower projects in Africa, according to Peter Bosshard, policy director of International Rivers, a US nongovernmental organisation (NGO) opposed to the project.

Bosshard said a partnership for such a massive undertaking between the US and China is unusual. "I am not aware of any other such case," he added.

Benoit Tshibangu Ilunga, who runs Congo law firm Tshibangu Ilunga & Partners and is involved in the dam project, told the South China Morning Post that the US government was interested in partnering with the Chinese state firms in the project.