According to the Bank, the first grant, of $585,000 mobilised from the Middle Income Country Technical Assistance Fund, will help fund development studies for hydroelectric dams.
The goal is to assist the future development of hydroelectric infrastructure at Mbanza Ndounga in the country’s south and Linzolo, which is 20 kilometres south of the capital, Brazzaville – sites earmarked for improved electricity production capacity that will help foster energy independence.
The second grant of $995,000, funded by the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Trust Fund (KOAFEC), will go towards a feasibility study and detailed design of transmission lines between Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville, as well as Loudima and Djambala.
The agreements were signed in Brazzaville on 26 February 2025 by Solomane Koné, the Bank Group’s acting Director-General for the Central Africa region and Ludovic Ngatse, Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Integration, as well as the Bank’s governor for Congo.
“These agreements are a sign of the close relationship that the government maintains with the African Development Bank for the development of Congo.
“The various studies will accompany the implementation of Congo’s strategy in terms of the electrification of its urban centres but also its rural areas, the aim being to work towards universal access to electricity for the whole of the Congolese population,” said Ngatse.
He added that the projects will help them open up power pools with neighbouring countries.
The Bank said these grants will be used to prepare core, short-term investment projects, which will allow Congo to achieve its objectives in terms of access to energy in alignment with Mission 300.
“For the last decade, the African Development Bank Group has been developing significant initiatives and global partnerships to densify investments in the energy sector by involving different actors. Mission 300, the Desert to Power initiative, and the Africa Energy Market Place have all been put in place to support our countries’ ambitions in terms of access to energy,” emphasised Koné.
In its economic outlook for the country, the AfDB highlighted that Congo faces a major economic challenge due to its heavy reliance on the oil sector coupled with slow structural development.
The Bank said this development hurdle intensifies because of several underlying issues, including macroeconomic imbalances, debt-related problems, limited private sector involvement in the economy, infrastructure bottlenecks, low skill levels, and insufficient institutional frameworks.
Amongst its intervention strategies, the AfDB highlighted the development of sustainable infrastructure to support the strengthening of value chains with high growth potential and the improvement of human capital and economic and financial governance to support the business climate.
Zooming into the energy sector, the Republic of Congo – Country Strategy Paper 2023-2028, states that the country has made significant progress over the past few years, with an increase in installed capacity, from 324.6MW in 2017 to 729MW in 2021.
The paper reveals that the country boasts a national power generation network featuring hydropower dams like Djoué (15MW), Moukoukoulou (74MW), Imboulou (120MW) and Liouesso (19.2MW).
Additionally, its generating capacity includes gas-fired thermal power plants such as Djéno (50MW) and Centrale Electrique du Congo (300MW), along with oil-fired thermal power plants like Brazzaville (32.5MW).
The electric power grid includes around 2,100km of high-voltage lines and 1300km of medium-voltage lines. Despite this potential, the paper states that electricity access remains low with significant discrepancies between urban and rural areas.
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