President Jacob Zuma has urged the responsible Ministries and government departments in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to finalise all outstanding issues regarding the $80-billion Grand Inga hydropower project, to “pave the way for the construction of this Pan-African flagship project”.

The project, which would be located on the Congo river, was expected to generate 44 000 MW of electricity once all phases were complete.

South Africa agreed to buy 2 500 MW of Inga 3’s capacity, which was the first stage of the much larger Grand Inga scheme.

Construction of the multibillion-dollar power project was expected to start this month.

On his return from a working visit to the DRC, where Zuma co-chaired a binational commission (BNC) with DRC President Joseph Kabila Kabange, Zuma highlighted that the next decade of the BNC would seek to intensify the implementation of joint economic projects, in particular Grand Inga, with the founding treaty signed on October 30, 2013.

“Africa's time is now and our two Republics must, together, play their rightful roles in pursuit of the continental dreams as espoused in Agenda 2063. The time has come for us as a continent to unlock the potential of our two countries through sustainable management and development of our natural endowments.

“It is time for strategic partnerships to drive the continental development trajectory and time to identify critical economic projects that have the potential to put us on the road to industrialisation and economic prosperity of our countries and peoples. Projects such as the the Grand Inga hydropower project fit in neatly in this category,” he stated.

During the BNC, the two Heads of State reviewed progress made on bilateral programmes during the first decade of the BNC, including politics and governance; defence and security; economy, finance and infrastructure; and social and humanitarian affairs.

Zuma noted that milestones were achieved particularly in peace, security and institutional capacity building projects, as well as identified economic projects.

He added that economic cooperation would become more prominent in the relationship between South Africa and the DRC in the next ten years, noting that the two Presidents commended the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the field of tourism by the two responsible Ministers, on June 13, which would improve cooperation in this growing and employment-creating sector.

The two Heads of State also witnessed the signing of the bilateral air services agreement by the countries’ transport Ministers, which would enable the two countries to facilitate the movement of people and expand aviation cooperation.