The Hydro and Irrigation Project in Africa

The Problems:

Africa is the continent that will suffer most under climate change. Temperature rise will trigger "sharp declines in crop yield in tropical regions", estimated at 5 to 10 % in Africa with an associated increase in under nourishment, malnutrition, malaria and related deaths.

Many places in Africa are overwhelmingly dependent on rain-fed agriculture and so they are vulnerable to even the early phases of climate change.

Africa's agricultural potential is vast. Currently, only 24% of the arable land is under cultivation. Irrigation takes up 88% of the total water withdrawals but represents only 1.9% of the cultivated land in Africa (UNECA 1989).

The World Energy Council says the power shortage has contributed to continued poverty and underdevelopment across the continent. It also says electricity is a bridge to sustainable development and a prerequisite and cornerstone for economic progress and social development.

Only 1% of DR Congo’s 39 million rural residents have access to electricity. The cost of lighting a shack takes 10% of income in the poorest households and the kerosene lamps are highly polluting.

The Hydro Solution:

Canada really can do something for Africa. But it involves more — much more — than handouts.



This Helical System became commercially viable in Korea in 2007.

We concentrate our efforts downstream from the Inga Projects using different less expensive hydro technology that was invented within the last 15 years. This alternative method of helical turbines is modular and can be made readily available, unlike expensive dam building.

An $11 million feasibility study is required which includes an experimental model, which would produce 40 MW annually. There is profitable 25% revenue of $2.8 million per year (at the rate of $0.0287/kWh at 80%Utilization Factor.)

The next step is to develop the first power cell line, which will produce 1244 MW with an estimated cost of $185 million ($149/kW), which is a fraction of the price of a nuclear power plant of over $1 billion with the same power production.

The eventual potential of a sale of carbon credits is an additional source of revenue for clean energy: part of a solution to global warming.

In the meantime, the Inga1 & Inga2 dam are under reconstruction ($500 million), which will bring electricity to the mining zones in the south; a $178 million World Bank loan is being used to revamp the world's largest network of power cables, a 1700 km stretch to the mining zones. This 1750 MW hydroelectric activity will take as long as four years and even then the demands will never be met.

Canada has contributed Cdn$1.3 million for a feasibility study of the 3500-MW Inga 3 project ($3.5 Billion + $1.5 Billion for transmission systems), which has a much longer time frame to 2015. Some critics suggest that a more ambitious Grand Inga Project ($80 Billion) that promises 39,000 MW should actually replace this project. ($1000/kW)

The Location:

The mighty Congo River in the Congo DR is the second largest river in the world, because it winds itself through the entire rain forest of Africa. At 4,700 km the Congo is the world's third longest river. It flows gently westwards for most of its length through a plateau, to fall 300m in its last 350km dash to the ocean.
It is 6000 to 8000 m in width at its widest point.

Near the outlet, 160 km from the Atlantic Ocean, the V-shaped deep gorge is very fast and narrow; the width is less than 800 m – an ideal location for helical turbines.

The Irrigation Solution:

Fresh water must be distributed to areas of water scarcity in Africa as a means to help the famine situation. New fresh water can settle many tribal disputes in African countries. This can only be accomplished using hydroelectric power, which powers large water pumps.

The combination of water scarcity and hydro electrical production go hand in hand. Irrigation to Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and the Congo DR itself can only be accomplished by adequate supporting hydroelectric power from the Congo River.

The intensification of small-scale irrigation is now one of the most important tools that Africans should give priority to over the next few decades. In fact, Irrigation farming can be very remunerative.



Congo DR: 7650 Km of Pipeline of 4m diameter

The Fertilizer Solution:

No country has ever shaken off poverty without adequate soil fertility. Farmers in Africa have traditionally relied on clearing land to grow crops then leaving it fallow to regain some of its fertility. Due to decades of soil nutrient mining, Africa’s soils have become some of the poorest in the world.

Fertilizer has become the preferred route to higher yields. There is a benefit/cost ratio, which ranges from 1.09 to 3.45. This means that fertilizer pays for itself even on the short run.

Now here is the Surprise:

· The Congo DR is the main beneficiary, because their entire investment for electricity, water and irrigation is paid for by hydro profits.
· Agricultural efficiency in all countries studied creates revenues that eventually exceed costs including initial capital costs in a few years.
· The most surprising is103 million hectare in all five countries studied will be newly irrigated and fertilized land eventually freeing them from food aid.
There are additional development goals that must be met, such as ensuring that more towns and important rural areas are supplied with on-grid electricity.
Unfortunately, Congolese instability presents huge obstacles. Securing the cooperation of many multilateral companies and national governments will be a mammoth task. In spite of these risks, the financial rewards are outstanding.



We need visionaries to implement obvious solutions. We desperately need to be able to recognize, and harness, obvious solutions, however innovative they initially appear to be. The obvious always becomes just that, obvious, once somebody has demonstrated that it works.