Congo Republic has officially commissioned a $109m hydroelectric dam constructed by Chinese firm Gezhouba Group. The move is aimed at enhancing the oil, agriculture and forestry sectors in the country.
The 19.9 MW dam in the northern town of Liouesso, according to the government, brings Congo’s hydroelectric production to 213 MW, nearly half of total national power output. The country produced just 89 MW in 2000.
Although the government is yet to find buyers for three-quarters of the dam’s output, President Denis Sassou Nguesso expressed optimism in the Liouesso dam giving great productive capacity to the businesses installed in the region.
Oil accounts for around 65% of GDP in the central African nation, Africa’s fourth-largest crude producer, but it is aiming to diversify its economy by increasing investments in infrastructure as well as in the mining and forestry sectors.
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The electricity produced is to serve households of the Ouesso city with around 4,500 inhabitants as well as its suburbs among Mkokéko. The project is strategically placed for the oil-producing country which aims to boost agriculture and forestry sectors.
The project is intended to both increase and diversify Congo’s power supply, which has risen steadily from a cumulative 90 MW in 2000 to 214 MW with Liousseo’s completion, according to government data.
The tender for the project was originally awarded for construction to South Africa’s Clackson Power Co. in October 2006, at which time the plant was scheduled for completion in 2014.
