The Busanga Hydropower Plant in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) began to retain water on May 31, marking the largest hydropower plant under construction in DRC entered to the preparation stage for power generation after nearly four years of construction. It is a major step toward the goal of power generation from its first unit on September 30. The project is funded by China Railway Resources Group Co., Ltd. and PowerChina Resources Ltd. under the built-operate-transfer model, and built and managed by China-DRC Construction Company under the China Railway Resources Group Co., Ltd.
The hydropower plant is located on the Luababa River, upstream of the Congo River. It has a 240 MW capacity and the height of the dam is 141.5 meters. The total amount of poured concrete for the main body of the dam reaches 620,000 cubic meters. The annual power generated by the plant will reach 1.32 billion kilowatt hour, accounting for 10 percent of the country’s total. When putting into operation, the power plant will fill up the gap of power supply in DRC, boost local industrial, social and economic development, enhance production output of local mining industry, and improve people’s livelihood.(By Han Zhongyi and Chen Ming)
