DR Congo state minister commends Chinese-built hydroelectric plant

Alexis Gisaro Muvuni (C), state minister for Infrastructure and Public Works of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), visits the Busanga hydroelectric plant in province of Lualaba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on July 11, 2024. Muvuni said Thursday that he was impressed by the techniques witnessed at the Busanga hydroelectric plant in the southeastern province of Lualaba. (Xinhua/Shi Yu)

KOLWEZI, DR Congo, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Alexis Gisaro Muvuni, state minister for Infrastructure and Public Works of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), said Thursday that he was impressed by the techniques witnessed at the Busanga hydroelectric plant in the southeastern province of Lualaba.

The DRC and the Chinese side should further promote investment in electricity and infrastructure, and unleash the potential in hydroelectric and photovoltaic cooperation, said Muvuni at the Busanga hydroelectric plant. Lualaba Province is rich in mineral resources, notably copper and cobalt.

In October 2023, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi inaugurated the Busanga hydroelectric plant by pressing the generator's main operating button in the control room, which marked the plant's electricity production start.

The Busanga hydroelectric plant is jointly invested and built by China Railway Resources Group and Power Construction Corporation of China. It has an installed capacity of 240 megawatts, with an estimated average annual electricity production of 1.32 billion kWh. It is set to guarantee the power supply for the regional mining enterprises, promote local industrial, economic, and social development, and further alleviate power shortages for local communities.

The Busanga hydroelectric plant is a major project under the China-DRC "resource for projects" cooperation package. An amendment to the cooperation package was signed in March 2024 between a group of Chinese companies and the DRC government, which will provide an investment of some 7 billion U.S. dollars mainly intended for the DRC infrastructure construction and the SICOMINES, a joint venture created in 2008 by the DRC public mining company and the group of Chinese companies.

Following the field trip to the Busanga hydroelectric plant, the DRC state minister also visited SICOMINES, where he inspected the world-class mines and the production line. According to Muvuni, the SICOMINES is a "flagship project" for the cooperation between the two countries.