By Kudra Maliro
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kipay Investment project is set to complete the first stage of the construction of a solar power installation in the southeastern part of the country.
The 2.4 megawatt photovoltaic power installation will cover 7 hectares and will be erected 200 kilometers from the city of Lubumbashi.
The project, which is executed with the help of local Congolese companies, will provide electrical energy to thousands of households in the region.
Eric Monga, the director of Kipay Investment, told TRT Afrika that the project is a 100% Congolese initiative, with about 4,368 panels of 550 watts to be installed.
"This megaproject will offer electrical energy to thousands of households in the South-Eastern part of the DRC," said Monga.
Many residents of the region have been without electricity for more than a week, and local fish traders like Aline Kasongo have been using generators to keep their fish fresh.
"I am waiting for this inauguration day to be connected to these power lines because I have always thrown away a lot of fish that deteriorate due to the lack of electricity, and this creates a huge loss of money," Kasongo told TRT Afrika.
The DRC has identified over 780 sites for the construction of micro and mega hydroelectric power installations, with a capacity of 100,000 megawatts.
However, the country currently uses only 2.5% of its potential or 2.50 megawatts.
The Kipay Investment solar power installation is the first of its kind in the region and is expected to reach a power of 46 megawatts by the end of 2024, at a total cost of about $600 million of investment.
