Congo to build largest dam for electricity production

BRAZZAVILLE - SABA: Official spokesman for the government of the Republic of Congo Thierry Mungala on Thursday announced that his country intends to build the largest dam to produce electricity. Mungala said in a statement on Thursday "The government, through the Ministry of Energy and Water, signed a memorandum of understanding with the (China Overseas) Company to develop the (Sunda) site, with the aim of producing 600 to 800 megawatts of electricity." More than 2.5 million people in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, the two main cities in Congo, suffer from frequent and almost daily power outages. Work on this major project is expected to continue for five years, its total cost is estimated at about 1,300 billion African francs (more than 8.5 billion euros). China has built three hydroelectric dams in Congo so far, with a capacity of 200 megawatts, but they are not enough to supply all urban areas. Source: Yemen News Agency