The Agency for the Development and Promotion of the Grand Inga Project (ADPI) has selected U.S.-based engineering group Aecom to update the preparatory studies for the Inga 3 hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The contract, valued at $4.7 million, is one of the first major awards in the project's new relaunch phase.

According to information published on June 15, 2026, by Africa Intelligence and confirmed to Bankable by several sources close to the process, Aecom's assignment will include reviewing the project's technical development scenarios, assessing electricity demand needed to underpin the project's bankability, and conducting new geological surveys at the Inga site. The work is expected to last 24 months.

According to information obtained by Bankable from individuals involved in the process, the procedure, although conducted through a single-source contracting process, took more than a year due to concerns over potential conflicts of interest. Two issues reportedly drew particular scrutiny from the World Bank, which is financing the studies under the Inga 3 Development Program: the proximity between Aecom's financial proposal and the budget earmarked for the assignment, and alleged family ties between executives of the local partner initially associated with the U.S. company and a senior ADPI official.

Sources familiar with the matter said a team from Washington was dispatched to review the concerns. The review reportedly resulted in the removal of the initially proposed local partner, while Aecom remained in the process.

Continuity of Technical Work

The World Bank was then reportedly faced with a difficult decision. The contract had been designed to allow the studies to be updated by the Aecom-Electricité de France (EDF) consortium, which carried out the original feasibility studies. However, EDF reportedly declined the offer, leaving Aecom as the only participant willing to continue the assignment. Excluding Aecom would have required restarting the process from scratch, with no guarantee that the U.S. group would later agree to update the studies.

Aecom's selection is therefore consistent with its longstanding involvement in the Inga 3 project. In 2011, the U.S. group, together with Électricité de France, won a $13.4 million contract to carry out the project's feasibility studies.

The work covered hydropower development at the site, associated transmission and interconnection lines, and the project's technical, financial, commercial, environmental and socio-economic dimensions.

The studies conducted by the Aecom-EDF consortium examined two main options. The first involved the so-called Inga 3 Low Head scheme, with a capacity of 4,800 megawatts. The second considered a more ambitious configuration featuring an 11,050-megawatt development linked to the Grand Inga project.

ADPI documents indicate that the second option was presented as compatible with the continued operation of the existing Inga 1 and Inga 2 power plants.

The earlier studies also estimated the cost of the project's domestic infrastructure at $17.9 billion, including $13.9 billion for generation facilities and $4 billion for domestic transmission lines.

Project Bankability

On the commercial side, the previous studies identified several potential markets for the electricity generated. South Africa was viewed as one of the main prospective buyers, with demand estimated at between 2,500 MW and 5,000 MW.

Mining companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo were also identified as major potential consumers, with projected demand ranging from 3,000 MW to 5,000 MW. State utility SNEL and industrial users in special economic zones were also among the prospective customers.

Based on those studies and bids received in 2016, Congolese authorities at one point favored a development plan involving Chinese and Spanish bidders grouped within a single developer consortium. The project was to be implemented under a build-operate-transfer public-private partnership model, with a concession agreement to be negotiated.

The project later stalled, particularly after the World Bank withdrew from the initiative in 2016. At the time, the total cost of the project was estimated at nearly $17.9 billion.

The Bretton Woods institution has since returned to the project. In June 2025, the World Bank approved an initial $250 million package under a program that could reach $1 billion. The funding is intended to support technical studies, strengthen project governance, develop local infrastructure and finance initiatives benefiting communities living near the site.

New Strategic Focus

This new phase follows several setbacks. Australian group Fortescue Energy, which obtained exclusive rights to develop the project in 2021, ultimately withdrew in 2024.

The renewed preparatory studies are intended to update the technical and commercial foundations of a project that has often been described as strategic for the Democratic Republic of Congo's energy future but has long been hindered by institutional, financial and industrial uncertainties. The update is expected to reflect the project's revised strategic priorities. According to World Bank officials, the emphasis is now on meeting the country's domestic electricity needs.

With the new contract, Aecom returns to a central role in the Inga 3 project after continuing its work with the Democratic Republic of Congo in the energy sector. In 2022, the company was selected to provide advisory services for the Uganda-DRC electricity interconnection project. The assignment involved assessing the feasibility of a transmission line linking western Uganda with eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

However, updating the studies does not yet mark the start of construction. Rather, it represents a preparatory step aimed at refreshing the technical, financial and commercial data needed for a possible relaunch of the project on more bankable foundations.

Pierre Mukoko & Ronsard Luabeya