The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will resume negotiations with India to discuss the possibility of restarting the Kande dam and hydropower project in the Kasaï-Central province of this Central African country.

The Minister of Water Resources and Electricity of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eustache Muhanzi, visited the project and saw the state of equipment installation. The construction work was stalled about 4 years ago.

Minister Muhanzi pointed out that the current situation is hindering the construction of power infrastructure in Kananga, Mbuji-Mayi and Timburo, which will benefit from these projects when completed.

About Katende Dam

The Katende Dam is being built on the right bank of the Lulu River, a tributary of the Congo River. According to the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 55% of the civil work of the project has been completed before it stops.

However, according to Minister Muhanzi, the contractor has not been on site for four years and the construction machinery and other components have been removed. The Minister of Water Resources and Electricity of the Democratic Republic of Congo explained: “In terms of equipment, we only have about 25% left, while civil engineering only 40% or 35%.”

He also pointed out that the government has purchased about 75% of the electrical equipment of the power station in preparation for the restoration of the construction project.

Auxiliary engineering

In addition to the construction of the Katende Dam and a hydroelectric power station with a proposed capacity of 64 MW, the project also includes the installation of several transmission lines.

The first line will connect Kananga with Mbuji-Mayi, the capital of Kasaï-Oriental province, through the territory of Tshimbulu, a distance of approximately 130 kilometers.

The second line is about 30 kilometers long and will start from Kananga and go straight to Bunkonde in the Dibaya region of Kasaï-Central province.Editor/Huang Lijun