Congo is about to build the "world's largest" hydroelectric project with a contractor from China in a $14 billion project that is causing concern among environmentalists, according to international press.

Illustration photo.

The hydroelectric dam on the Congo River is expected to have the capacity of 20 nuclear power plants but will "destroy the entire ecosystem" in the region and cause 60,000 people to relocate, according to The Guardian in the UK on May 28.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said it would approve a project at the Inga Falls on a tributary of the Congo River to build a 4,800 MW hydroelectric plant.

If carried out, these projects could provide electricity within the next 3-4 years.

But the planned “world’s largest” hydroelectric dam is just the beginning.

According to some environmental advocacy websites, following the Inga 3 project, people will turn the entire Congo River, the second largest river in the world, into a hydroelectric source in a $100 billion project.

According to the California-based non-governmental organization International Rivers, these projects would provide 40% of Africa's electricity, but "may violate a range of national and international development laws."

Build more hydroelectric power plants

Two Chinese power groups are on the list of contractors that will be selected to build the Inga 3 project.

It was the Three Gorges Corporation that built the Three Gorges Dam in China, and Sinohydro was invited to participate.

Environmental campaigners say this, if built, “will only damage the reputation of Chinese dam companies in terms of their environmental impact,” according to Peter Bosshard of International Rivers.

But there are also reports that the Chinese government has ordered its hydropower corporations not to proceed with dam construction without an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

This is not the only hydropower project carried out by a Chinese contractor in Africa that is currently facing opposition.

Two Chinese companies, Sinohydro and China Water (CWE), have signed a contract to build the Isimba dam in Uganda.

The project, funded by the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank), is currently under litigation.

News in early June 2016 said that President Yoweri Museveni had suspended three Ugandan energy ministry officials while an investigation was conducted into two projects related to the Isimba and Karuma dams.

A lawsuit has been filed in the Ugandan High Court, claiming that the funding for the two projects was "unlawful," according to AllAfrica.com.

On May 9, a lawyer named Henry Kyalimpa filed a public interest lawsuit in a court in Kampala against the Ugandan Attorney General, Uganda Electricity Generating Authority (UEG) and three Chinese partners, Sinohydro, CWE and EXIM Bank, for their handling of the financing of hydropower projects.

According to Bizlive