Inga–Shaba HVDC

Inga–Shaba EHVDC
Location
Country	Democratic Republic of Congo
Coordinates	05°31′27″S 13°36′39″E 04°42′43″S 15°17′41″E 05°06′39″S 18°47′06″E 05°59′26″S 22°26′52″E 08°44′43″S 24°52′30″E 10°39′27″S 25°27′08″E
From	Inga hydroelectric complex
To	Shaba (Katanga)
Ownership information
Operator	Société nationale d'électricité (SNEL)
Construction information
Contractors	Morrison-Knudsen International, ASEA, Sadelmi-Cogepi, Irish GE subsidiary
Commissioned	1982
Technical information
Type	overhead line
Type of current	HVDC
Total length	1,700 km (1,100 mi)
Power rating	560 MW
DC Voltage	+/-500 kV

Single Line Diagram of Inga-Shaba HVDC

The Inga–Shaba EHVDC Intertie (officially: The Inga–Shaba Extra High Voltage D.C. Intertie; nickname: Inga–Shaba) is a high-voltage direct current overhead electric power transmission line in the Democratic Republic of Congo, linking the Inga hydroelectric complex at the mouth of the Congo River to mineral fields in Shaba (Katanga). It was primarily constructed by Morrison-Knudsen International, an American engineering company. It cost US$900 million.

History

The Inga–Shaba HVDC represented one of the United States' most important third world commitments of the 1970s and 1980s. However, construction progress was plagued by rebel insurgency in Southern Zaire, massive logistical challenges, unavoidable cost overruns, and financing delays.

By utilizing the hydroelectric potential of the Inga Dam and by constructing one switching station near Kinshasa at Selo, the Government of Zaire under Mobutu Sese Seko was theoretically able to control the flow of power to secession-prone Katanga, then Shaba, province, but never actually exercised this option. It was reported in La Libre Belgique, a Bruxelles newspaper, that Tractionel, a Belgian electrical contractor, had argued that more economical alternatives were available nearer Shaba, using low-head generator plants, but had been overlooked in favor of the American consortium, consisting of Morrison-Knudsen International as a prime contractor, and Swedish ASEA, Italian Sadelmi-Cogepi and Irish GE subsidiary as sub-contractors.

The project was initially conceived as a US$250 million contract - but cost overruns, partly due to unanticipated armed conflict in Shaba Province, pushed the final price up over US$1 billion, with unofficial estimates ranging as high as US$1.3 billion, inclusive of a comprehensive Operations and Maintenance Contract.

Construction of the Inga–Shaba Project provided the Ministry of Energy and the Société nationale d'électricité (SNEL), with the means to promote further development activity throughout Zaire, by attracting potential investors and overseas firms; however, there have been suggestions that well-placed officials in the Mobutu government may have accepted gratuities at various critical junctures during the construction phase. As the Republic became more indebted to overseas financial entities, the Inga–Shaba Project ultimately accounted for approximately 20% of the former Zaire's debt burden, the total amount of which was $5 billion at the time, according to a variety of credible sources.

Route

The ten-year project entailed design and construction of a 1,700-kilometre (1,100 mi) electrical transmission line from Inga (05°31′27″S 13°36′39″E) at the mouth of the Congo River, specifically from the Inga Dam, one of Africa's three largest hydroelectric complexes, to the distant copper mining region then known as Shaba, today Katanga. It featured switching stations at Selo (near Kinshasa) (04°42′43″S 15°17′41″E), Kikwit (05°06′39″S 18°47′06″E), Kananga (05°59′26″S 22°26′52″E) and Kamina(08°44′43″S 24°52′30″E), prior to delivering power to the Kolwezi Inverter Station(10°39′27″S 25°27′08″E).

Technology

This scheme, equipped with modern thyristor technology provided by Swedish subcontractor ASEA, was designed to transmit 560 megawatts, in the first phase, at a symmetrical bipolar voltage of +/-500 kilovolts. It is the longest EHVDC transmission line to date, except for one in Siberia, which never went in service. Because the line runs through relatively inaccessible terrain, an unusually broad right-of-way was cleared, at considerable expense, to ensure tower integrity.

The line operated initially at only 10% of capacity. In the 1990s, prior to major social unrest, the line increased its power transmission to 200 megawatts, still considerably below design capacity. As of 2010, the line was still functional as far as Bandundu, the capital of Bandundu province, approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) northeast of Kinshasa.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Grand Inga Dam
• High-voltage direct current

Biobliography

• Kwitny, Jonathan Endless Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World (1984; ISBN 0-14-008093-7)

Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges. The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History. New York: Zed Books, 2002.

External links

• http://www.abb.com/global/abbzh/abbzh251.nsf?OpenDatabase&db=/GLOBAL/GAD/GAD02181.NSF&v=17EA&e=us&m=9F2&c=C1256D71001E0037C1256C7D00387939
• http://www.transnational-research.com/miller.htm The Inga-Shaba Project: Corporate Diplomacy in the Third World
• http://web.archive.org/web/20051115122606/www.transmission.bpa.gov/cigresc14/Compendium/INGASHAB.htm
• http://web.archive.org/web/20051115122606/www.transmission.bpa.gov/cigresc14/Compendium/Ingashab%20Pictures.pdf