KEY POINTS
- Angola and DRC plan a 1,450km transmission line linking Malanje in Angola to Fungurume in DRC.
- The project will deliver 2,000 megawatts to power DRC’s industries, communities and 100 million people.
- A second line linking Angola’s Zaire province to Inga will also be built as part of the project.
Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo are moving ahead with one of Africa’s largest electricity infrastructure projects, a 1,450-kilometer transmission line that will carry power from Malanje in Angola to Fungurume in the DRC’s mining heartland.
DRC Minister of Water Resources and Electricity Molendo Sakombi announced the project Thursday in Luanda, following an audience with Angolan President Joao Lourenco, where energy cooperation between the two neighboring countries was the central topic.
The project also includes a second transmission line linking Angola’s Zaire province to Inga in the DRC. Together, the two lines are designed to deliver 2,000 megawatts to Congolese populations, industries and communities.
“This is an electrical interconnection project valued at hundreds of millions of dollars and, as you know, works of this magnitude require in-depth studies,” Sakombi said.
Why the DRC is turning to Angola for power
The DRC is home to roughly 100 million people and faces a significant electricity deficit while its grand ambitions around the Inga hydroelectric project remain under development. Inga, when complete, is projected to become the largest energy hub on the African continent. Until then, the DRC needs a bridge.
“We turned to our sister Republic of Angola to acquire 2,000 megawatts intended to supply the populations, industries and communities,” Sakombi said.
Fungurume, where one of the transmission lines will terminate, sits in Lualaba province in southeastern DRC and is a major copper and cobalt mining area. Dilolo, a border town adjacent to Angola’s Lunda-Sul province, sits along the route, connecting the two countries at a key geographic junction.
Broader goals beyond electricity
Sakombi framed the project as more than an infrastructure deal. Energy exchanges between Angola and the DRC, he said, would boost bilateral economic growth, strengthen energy security and consolidate ties between the two states.
Angolan President Lourenco received Sumbu Sita Mambu, the high representative of DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, on Thursday in Luanda, where both sides discussed matters of common interest beyond the energy project.
The transmission line adds to a growing list of cross-border energy initiatives across Africa as governments look to regional cooperation to close persistent electricity gaps and support industrial growth.
