South Africans question Inga rationale

Ambiguous signals from South Africa are adding to concerns that, for all the political support and its central position in the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (Pida), the Grand Inga project’s anchor client is less than certain the scheme will go ahead in its current configuration. Critics point to daunting downside risks, including heavy costs, the supply-side impact of rival schemes (including mega-projects led by the new-build nuclear programme and plans to pipe more gas from Mozambique) and heightened perceptions of political risk in the run-up to presidential elections in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which are scheduled for November.