On December 24, 2020, the Busangjia hydropower station dam, invested by China Railway Resources Group and constructed by its affiliated Zhonggang Construction Company, was fully poured to an elevation of 835 meters, with a cumulative height of over 90 meters. The construction process has completed complex construction areas such as the mid hole flood discharge system and the 825 meter elevation mid level corridor.
The Bousanga hydropower station is currently the largest infrastructure project under construction in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It started construction in 2017 with a dam height of 141.5 meters, a total reservoir capacity of 1.298 billion cubic meters, and a total investment of 656 million US dollars. It is the fourth stage of the planned cascade hydropower station on the Lualaba River, a tributary of the Congo River. It is a large and medium-sized hydropower station jointly invested, constructed, and operated by China Railway Corporation and China Electric Power Construction Corporation. The dam is a roller compacted concrete double curvature arch dam with a total installed capacity of 240 megawatts, Consisting of four 60 megawatt power generation units, with an average annual power generation of 1.32 billion kilowatt hours over the years, the power generation capacity will account for one tenth of the total capacity of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project adopts Chinese standards and specifications from design, construction, equipment manufacturing, and installation acceptance. The planned construction period is 4 years, the operation period is 26 years, and the power generation franchise is 30 years.
In order to ensure the progress of the project, Zhonggang Construction Company, affiliated with China Railway Resources Group, fully utilizes the technological and experiential advantages of China's infrastructure. While doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, it vigorously promotes key tasks such as immigration relocation and line relocation, takes measures to accelerate the construction progress, ensure the quality of concrete construction, and create a Chinese speed for hydropower station construction in Africa.
According to China Railway Resources Group, after the project is put into operation as scheduled, it will greatly alleviate the serious electricity shortage in the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially for the mining province of Lualaba, which plays a guarantee role in electricity consumption. It is not only conducive to further increasing the country's mining capacity and enhancing the local copper product deep processing capacity, but also to improving the situation of electricity shortage for local residents.
The completion ceremony of the Congo (Kinshasa) Bousanga hydropower station, which was invested and constructed by Chinese enterprises, was held on October 5th this year, with the presence and ribbon cutting of the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa).
On the same day, during his inspection of the Bousanga hydropower station located in Lualaba Province, Chisekdi highly affirmed the project's modern equipment, advanced technology, and operational capabilities. Zisekdi visited facilities such as the diversion dam, generator room, and central control room of the hydropower station. In the control room, Zisekdi personally pressed the main button for the operation of the generator set, and the impeller of the generator set slowly rotated. The generator indicator light lit up, marking the official start of power generation at the Bousanga hydropower station.
The Minister of Water Resources and Electricity of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Olivier Mwenze Mukaren, stated at the ceremony that electricity is a necessity for the country. The Bousanga hydropower station is a fruitful achievement of cooperation between Congo and China, which will assist the modernization development process of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Chinese Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zhao Bin, stated in his speech that the Bousanga hydropower station not only provides electricity for the production of local mining enterprises, but also serves the electricity consumption of surrounding residents, playing an important role in the local economic and social development. Both China and Congo are major developing countries with strong economic complementarity and a broad and solid foundation for cooperation. We believe that China's advanced technology, high-end equipment, rich experience, and sufficient investment will undoubtedly inject strong impetus into the comprehensive development of the Congo (DRC) economy.
The Busangjia Hydropower Station is jointly invested and constructed by China Railway Resources Group Co., Ltd. and China Power Construction Group Overseas Investment Co., Ltd. The total investment of the hydropower station is 656 million US dollars, with a storage capacity of 1.3 billion cubic meters in the reservoir area and a total installed capacity of 240 megawatts.
