The Grand Inga Dam, a massive hydroelectric project on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was designed to generate renewable electricity for large parts of Africa. However, the project has faced delays for decades, and its future is now even more uncertain after China’s state-owned ‘Three Gorges Corporation’ recently withdrew from it.

The DRC government has long insisted that the project is still in progress, but critics point to several problems, including the history of bad governance in the nation and possible environmental effects. There are growing concerns about the changing group of international partners in the project. The latest setback came last week when China's state-owned Three Gorges Corporation withdrew, according to the BBC.

Above all, the project faces a huge financial challenge, with an estimated cost of $80 billion (£63 billion), which is a major burden for one of the world's poorest countries. Some believe the project is facing more criticism than other big infrastructure projects. Even though construction hasn’t started yet, media reports say that stakeholders have held several meetings and discussions over the past year.

The International Energy Agency states that the Grand Inga Dam is still urgently needed, as around 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity. Efforts to tackle the region's energy crisis began in the early 2000s when the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighbouring countries like South Africa, Angola, Namibia, and Botswana proposed creating a connected electricity grid. The Congo River, with its massive potential for hydropower, led to the formation of Westcor, a group aimed at expanding the two existing dams, Inga 1 and Inga 2. These dams, built in the 1970s and 1980s under Mobutu Sese Seko’s rule, currently operate at only 80% of their capacity due to lack of proper maintenance.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo plans to build six more dams along the river to increase electricity production, potentially generating up to 40,000 MW — enough to power New York City. This project is seen as an important move for Africa’s industrial growth. Despite earlier expectations to finish the Inga 3 project by 2018, there has been little noticeable progress. While the World Bank has pledged ongoing support, it's still unclear whether the Grand Inga Dam will ever be completed.