How do you support a massive energy development project without “officially” supporting it? In Africa, the U.S. government may have found a way.
Construction of the Inga 3 dam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while controversial, could, by some experts’ estimation, achieve U.S. President Barack Obama’s ambitious goal for Power Africa in one fell swoop and provide 40,000 megawatts of energy to a power-starved continent. A chorus of African developers want Inga 3 to happen, but the dam is riddled with risk and could “tarnish” the U.S. initiative’s brand.
So Power Africa will not “officially” endorse the massive and controversial dam project, but instead support a process by which African leaders will prioritize and “rally around” their top regional power priorities, likely including the megadam project on the Congo river.