World Bank financing for DRC's Inga 3 dam takes effect, starting a governance sprint

Financing agreements between the World Bank and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the Inga 3 hydropower project took effect on 2 February 2026, triggering a burst of government activity aimed at establishing the project's institutional framework. At a Council of Ministers meeting on 20 March 2026, President Félix Tshisekedi instructed sector ministries and the provincial government of Kongo Central to finalise cooperation agreements with the Agency for the Development and Promotion of the Grand Inga Project (ADPI-RDC) within 60 days.

The relevant ministers were told to sign the agreements under the supervision of the prime minister, with copies to be sent to the World Bank and other financial partners by 3 April 2026 at the latest. Tshisekedi also asked the government to urgently finalise a draft law on the Grand Inga project, with the Council of Ministers aiming to adopt the text by 27 March 2026 before submitting it to parliament by the end of that month — a step officials described as essential to formalising the institutional structure needed to keep the financial support agreed with the World Bank on track.

A dam decades in the making

Inga 3 is the first phase of the broader Grand Inga hydropower scheme on the Congo River, which could eventually generate more than 11,000MW if fully built out — enough to transform electricity supply across much of southern and central Africa. The World Bank's board approved $1 billion in financing for Inga 3 in June 2025, alongside technical assistance to help ADPI-RDC manage the programme and prepare detailed studies, capacity building and project structuring ahead of a full financial close.

Power for mines, eventually

Should Inga 3 proceed on schedule, it stands to benefit the DRC's own state utility SNEL as well as mining operations on the Lualaba copperbelt, some of which already draw power from the smaller, refurbished Inga II facility under a separate arrangement with Ivanhoe Mines. But Grand Inga's history is one of repeated delays and shifting timelines, and the February 2026 financing milestone — significant as it is — still leaves years of construction ahead before any of the project's power reaches the grid.

Sources

• Ecofin Agency: DRC steps up Inga 3 preparation as World Bank financing takes effect, 20 Mar 2026

Photo: The Inga hydropower dam complex on the Congo River, site of the planned Inga 3 project. Radio Okapi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.