DRC-France cooperation: mobilising resources for the construction of the Inga III dam

Kinshasa, July 29^th, 2025 (CPA). – France has reaffirmed its commitment to mobilising resources for investment in the construction of the Inga III dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a document from the French Embassy in DRC consulted on Tuesday by CPA. « The Inga III dam will mobilise public and private investment. France supports the approach developed by the World Bank and validated on July 3rd, which consists of preparing the project but also preparing the country for the project. It is the continuation of the preparatory work on the project that will make it possible to put a figure on the volume of public and private investment required. France is giving its full support to the mobilisation of these resources, and it is in Paris that the first conference to mobilise these investments was held on 10 July last », it is read.  According to the source, France is also working to prepare the country for the project, and is currently examining a €10m project to train the skills needed to build the dam, in particular engineers and senior technicians, in the Congo.  Recent years have been years of strong growth for the financial commitments of the French Development Agency (AFD) in DRC. The annual volume has been multiplied by 4 in 5 years to reach €200M in 2025, the source has added.  The same source went on to say that France and DRC have agreed in December 2021 to commit €500m over 4 years, of which €558m has been mobilised in just three years, adding that the main areas of intervention are infrastructure (energy and fibre optics), education and the environment.  French private investment in DRC amounts to USD 3 billion. The two main French investors, with around USD 1 billion each, are Orange and Perenco, it has been revealed.