By Daphne Psaledakis and Bate Felix
NEW YORK/DAKAR (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo still has difficulty securing investments for its Inga power project, the president said on Tuesday in New York, adding that the World Bank and China are interested.
The multibillion dollar project, which will harness the power of the Congo River, has been repeatedly delayed by red tape and disagreements between Congo and its partners.
“Unfortunately, we are still facing difficulties in mobilizing investments,” President Felix Tshisekedi told reporters at an event during the annual high-level United Nations General Assembly.
Tshisekedi has previously said he had held discussions with potential new partners, including China and the World Bank.
“We continue to hope especially because the World Bank has once again shown interest, which we are happy with,” he said.
“During my visit in China, I also succeeded to interest the Chinese, so I think it will not be impossible that tomorrow, there is a sort of consortium formed around the World Bank and Chinese investors, maybe some Europeans and the Australians who would like to join the adventure.”
Tshisekedi also said that while there is nothing solid, there is lots of interest including from South Africa, which hopes the project will help solve its crippling power crisis.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in New York and Bate Felix in Dakar; editing by Grant McCool)
