Washington – November 03, 2026 -- The United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo have launched joint governance of Grand Inga, a Congo River hydropower complex with an estimated 42,000 megawatts of potential capacity, according to a statement distributed on behalf of the Congolese government. The inaugural Grand Inga Coordination and Governance Committee met at the World Bank offices in Paris.

Treasury official and Deputy Prime Minister co-chair the Grand Inga committee

Daniel Mukoko Samba, DRC Deputy Prime Minister, and Jeremy Wiggins of the U.S. Department of the Treasury co-chaired the session. Delegations focused on developing Grand Inga in coordinated phases. The committee also put environmental and social safeguards for affected communities on its agenda.

"For decades, Inga was a promise," Samba said, adding that Congo intends to process its minerals domestically using Congolese labor and power.

Strategic Partnership Agreement has produced two funded projects since February

The agreement was signed in Washington on December 4, 2025, and covers investment, critical minerals, infrastructure and energy. Its Joint Steering Committee formally began implementation in February.

In April, KoBold Metals launched a $50 million lithium exploration program in the DRC. In August, the DRC signed a 30-year, $1.26 billion concession to rebuild the 1,000-kilometer DR Congo link of the Lobito Corridor railway.

Inga's potential capacity is nearly double that of China's Three Gorges Dam

The Inga site holds an estimated 42,000 megawatts of potential power, against 22,500 megawatts installed at Three Gorges, the world's largest operating power station. Inga 1 and Inga 2, with about 1,800 megawatts combined, are in operation today.

The World Bank estimates that only about one in five Congolese has access to electricity. Without reliable power, much of the copper and cobalt mined in the DRC leaves the country unprocessed.

First phase is expected to create up to 6,000 jobs

The first phase is expected to create 4,000 to 6,000 jobs, and projections estimate up to 8 million jobs as the project develops. Grand Inga is central to the DRC's goal of bringing electricity to 62 percent of its population, about 82 million people, by 2030.

DRC Ambassador to the United States Yvette Kapinga Ngandu said the railroad, new American investment and Grand Inga show what the partnership can build for American supply chains and for Congolese families without electricity.