China-built power project to be handed over to Republic of Congo

[preme3000]

November 05, 2010

The government of the Republic of Congo will on Wednesday receive the Imboulou hydroelectric power station, which was constructed by Chinese technicians, public works officials told Xinhua in Brazzaville on Thursday.

The information was released after the head of Republic of Congo's public works department, Jean Jacques Bouya, was sent to the site to evaluate the work.

Bouya told a press conference that the Imboulou hydroelectric power station has been functional for the last four months, supplying 60 megawatts to the capital Brazzaville.

The station, which was launched on Sept. 23, 2003, was built by China Machinery and Equipment Company (CMEC).

The project involves 2,000 Congolese, 400 Chinese and 20 German nationals from the Fichtner Engineering Council. The Chinese ambassador in the Republic of Congo, Li Shuli, hailed the cooperation as "the most important" under the Sino-Congolese cooperation.

The project of an estimated 280 million U.S. dollars was 85 percent funded by China and 15 percent by the Republic of Congo.

This hydroelectric power station with the capacity of 120 megawatts is one of the strategic partnership projects between the two countries launched in Brazzaville in 2006.

The dam will help ease the energy deficit that had made Brazzaville import 50 megawatts from the Inga dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

Source:Xinhua

[preme3000]

picture from old bbc article


DESCPRIPTION OF PROJECT

After some twenty years of preliminary studies, construction work for the Imboulou hydropower plant on the Lefini river finally started in 2005. The Direction Générale des Grands Travaux commissioned a Chinese contractor with the turn-key erection of the plant.

With an annual production of 680,000 MWh, the new hydropower plant substantially contributes to the energy supply of the Republic of the Congo.

Fichtner WT was entrusted with part of the construction supervision and quality control for the hydropower plant and the storage dam as well as the 60-km-long access road.

The plant consists of an R.C. dam with four vertical Kaplan turbines, two bottom outlets and the spillway, as well as of a 270-m-long earth dam.
PROJECT COMPONENTS AND
TECHNICAL DATA

* Installed capacity: 120 MW
* Average capacity: 68 MW
* 4 * 30 MW Kaplan turbines
* Annual power generation: 680,000 MWh
* Mean flow rate of Lefini river: 485 m³/s
* Mean head: 18.3 m
* Storage capacity: 584 million m³
* Plant length: 580 m (storage dam: 310 m / earth dam: 270 m)
* Plant height: 32.5 m
* Access road: 60 km / width: 7 m

[BUTEMBO21]

Very nice. happy to see this thing completed.

[preme3000]

Congo Republic launches Chinese-funded hydro power plant

Sun May 8, 2011

BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - The oil-producing central African state of Congo Republic inaugurated a 120 Megawatt Chinese-funded hydroelectric power station late on Saturday aimed at bridging the gap in its energy needs.

The $377 million Imboulou plant 150 km (90 miles) north of the capital Brazzaville is 85 percent-funded with soft loans by China and was built by China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corporation (CMEC). Terms of the financing have not been released.

Energy Minister Bruno Jean Richard Itoua said the plant, which is due to produce 876 million kilowatt-hours a year, would allow Congo Republic to wean itself off energy imports from its larger neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Congo Republic consumed around 470 million kWh of energy in 2007 compared to domestic production capacity of 400 million, according to the CIA World Factbook.

[BUTEMBO21]

Good job to the brother.

Other the other hand. we keep on humiliating ourselves.

[preme3000]

The Congo Brazzaville has concretized its energy independence
May 10th, 2011 in Development

On 7th May, the head of state Denis Sassou Nguesso, cut the symbolic ribbon and unveiled the inaugural stone of the 120-megawatt dam, built on the river Léfini. At a cost of 170 billion CFA francs, the work was made by the Chinese company CMEC in 5 years.

This is a gigantic task, which mobilized some 2,000 Congolese workers, 600 Chinese technicians and 23 Germans from the control company Fichtner. The dam has put an end to the energy dependence of Brazzaville vis-à-vis the Inga dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), power cuts and poor power quality.

Denis Sassou-Nguesso inaugurated the hydroelectric dam Imboulou

The dam Imboulou will promote the establishment of factories in the northern part of the Congo, which used to be powered by generators. The Congolese Head of State laid the foundation stone for the construction of this work in September 2003. But the actual work began in 2005.

Apart from the dam, there is the construction of transmission lines - high voltage, low and medium voltage - estimated at 300 billion CFA francs, as well as the network rehabilitation in Brazzaville. These two projects under construction will be completed by the end of the year.

The dam lies on the greenish waters of Léfini at 14km from the confluence with the River Congo, to the point where Pool and Plateaux departments meet.

Electricity for Brazzaville

With electricity transmission lines attached to it, the Imboulou dam feeds Brazzaville and several other towns. Its energy is injected to the national grid by two parallel lines of 220KV, each connecting the plant to the electricity hub in Ngo.

The imposing structure has changed the landscape of the area, especially with the construction of an access road of 60km, school and health centers, houses of technical staff, a hotel offering a bird's-eye view of the dam, and other related works.

The populations of the districts of Brazzaville, whose homes are still not supplied with the energy from the Imboulou, will have to to wait until the end of the rehabilitation works of the urban network. Functional since June 2010, the dam Imboulou supplies some parts of the capital and injects a few megawatts in the network of the DRC.

The Ngo station receives energy produced by the four turbines of Imboulou and injects it into the existing network in the south and in the network which has been in construction in the north of the country.

A turning point in national energy policy

The Minister of Energy and Hydraulics, Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, wanted that the management of the Imboulou dam mark a turning point in managing the National Electricity Company (SNE), which has been experiencing difficulties for several years. He insisted on connecting the surrounding villages to the grid of Imboulou.

To date, different constructions have taken place: 7 high voltage power supplies of 220KV and 110KV to Djiri Ngo, Gamboma, Oyo Boundji, Owando and Djambala etc. These works should include the length of the national electricity transmission to 1588 km.

Under the energy government plan, for which the Imboulou dam is the central link, the southern part of the country, especially Pointe-Noire, benefits form the energy produced by the two gas power plants of 50 and 300 megawatts, including Moukoukoulou Dam (74 megawatts).

Furthermore, President Sassou-Nguesso has decorated the Congolese and Chinese leaders, who had helped build the dam Imboulou, in order of the Congolese merit to the rank of commander, Grand Officer, Officer and Knight.

[preme3000]

Credit where credit is due first of all, so well done Nguesso and his government for starting to tackle what i consider central africa's biggest problem, lack of energy supply.

Although we will never know this, knowing the inner workings of the two Congos, I have a feeling some French pressure must have been applied in the background not to go ahead with this project. Probably based on some baseless environmental argument.

The challenge for Nguesso and Republic of Congo will now be maintenance and tranfer of knowledge to keep the dam operating to its maximum potential. I haven't found any articles that discloses how and whom will maintain the dam or what part the Congolese themselves will play. I will post on discovery.

I assume the financial contribution from the Chinese was in the form loans, not sure but I am sure more will be revealed when the final power lines are completed by the end of the year.

Very positive progress, not many pictures available at the minute but I will look.

[preme3000]

The Imboulou Hydropower Plant

[litho]

Originally Posted by preme3000

The Imboulou Hydropower Plant

Felicitations president Otshombe D. Sassou Nguesso, yo penza olekibango

[preme3000]

picture of the 60km road leading to the dam (pics at the point of under construction)

[BUTEMBO21]

Good job to brothers accross the river. Kinshasa is to get the electricity back.

[preme3000]

Originally Posted by litho

Felicitations president Otshombe D. Sassou Nguesso, yo penza olekibango

Tour oyo, Sassou asali plant moko ya makasi. Eza simple te pona ko complete ba grand boulot ya sorte oyo, surtout na afrique centrale

Originally Posted by BUTEMBO21

Good job to brothers accross the river. Kinshasa is to get the electricity back.

The 120MW represents a 30% increase on current levels. They are one big dam away from being able to meet consumption independently.

[hsark]

you guys mustn't forget to share ur excess electricity with ur brothers in the south RSA needs a lot of power in the next few years ;-)

[preme3000]

update

All 4 Units of SINOHYDRO’s Imboulu Hydropower Project Start Power Generation

On 11th August, the No.1 power unit of Imboulou Hydropower Station constructed by SINOHYDRO in the Republic of Congo started to generate power. Together with the No.3 & 4 units, and No.2 unit beginning power generation ahead of time on 22nd June, and 8th July respectively, the 120MW hydropower station is getting close to fully function, and thereafter will play an active role in electric power supply to the country.

[preme3000]

grandstravaux.org

[Broda-Man]

This is beautiful !
A good progress, I hope it won't take the same path as la SNEL.

[preme3000]

Four Turbine


Transmission lines

[Gadiri]

An other dam concept by moroccan company. I don't know the year of this project :

Congo


Etude préliminaire du barrage Busanga

Barrage voûte de 140m de hauteur associé à une usine souterraine d'une puissance installée de 220 MW débit d'équipemeny de 196 m3/s

http://www.novec.ma/fr/decline.aspx?mod=1&rub=31

[preme3000]

Originally Posted by Gadiri

An other dam concept by moroccan company. I don't know the year of this project :



http://www.novec.ma/fr/decline.aspx?mod=1&rub=31

This dam was proposed for the Katanga province in DRC. The estimates are between 240MW-350MW. post

It was being talked about from about half way through last decade. Even just 10% of the stolen and mismanaged money from this province in the last 5 years could have covered the full costs of building this dam.

[Gadiri]

Originally Posted by preme3000

This dam was proposed for the Katanga province in DRC. The estimates are between 240MW-350MW. post

It was being talked about from about half way through last decade. Even just 10% of the stolen and mismanaged money from this province in the last 5 years could have covered the full costs of building this dam.

Thank you for the explanation.