The World Bank has ignited a wave of backlash from civil society and human rights groups after approving $250 million in financing for the controversial Inga 3 hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Critics say the move disregards glaring governance failures, environmental risks, and the rights of thousands of Congolese citizens who stand to be displaced.
The Inga 3 Dam, a mega-infrastructure project projected to cost over $10 billion, has long been mired in controversy.
While the World Bank’s commitment could grow to $1 billion over multiple phases, local and international organizations warn that the project will exacerbate existing inequalities and environmental degradation, all while sidelining more sustainable energy alternatives like solar and wind.
“The Bank is returning to top-down mega dams that threaten communities and ecosystems, while sidelining community-driven, decentralized renewable alternatives,” said Josh Klemm, Executive Director of International Rivers.
This marks the World Bank’s return to large-scale hydropower investments after a decade-long pause.
The Bank previously withdrew its support for Inga 3 in 2016, citing major governance concerns. Since then, a revolving door of developers has attempted—and failed—to launch the project.
“We’ve been here before. This approval is a misguided effort by the World Bank to promote hydropower in the DRC after many years and millions of dollars have been spent with nothing to show for it,” said Apollinaire Nsimbi, Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Head of Advocacy for Initiative pour le Développement Local (IDEL).
While proponents claim Inga 3 will help bridge the DRC’s severe energy access gap—where only about 20% of the population has electricity—critics argue that the project prioritizes industrial users and foreign buyers over ordinary Congolese.
Structured as a public-private partnership, the dam risks enriching developers while leaving the population in the dark and burdening the nation with unsustainable debt.
“Inga 3 threatens to deepen the DRC’s debt burden without delivering promised energy access to the millions of Congolese who need it,” warned Emmanuel Musuyu, Executive Secretary of CORAP (Coalition des Organisations de la Société Civile pour le Suivi des Réformes et de l’Action Publique).
Perhaps most alarming are the human rights implications. The dam’s reservoir could displace over 30,000 people—many of whom were never compensated for forced relocations during earlier Inga 1 and 2 projects.
Families already suffering from loss of land, declining fish stocks, and food insecurity fear a new wave of hardship.
“My family lost everything as they were among those physically and economically displaced by Inga 1 and 2, and we are not prepared to again sacrifice our land and livelihood for the construction of Inga 3,” said Angelique Mvuezolo, Director of Femmes du Fleuve.
Community members have also denounced the project’s consultation process as exclusionary and inadequate. They argue it glosses over the severe impacts on local populations and fails to respect the rights of those who will be most affected.
The World Bank claims Inga 3 will bring climate benefits, but experts dispute this. Mega-dams are increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events and can worsen climate change by releasing methane and CO₂ from their vast reservoirs.
“Mega dams are not climate solutions—they are climate liabilities,” said Genny Ngende, Africa Program Senior Campaigner for International Rivers.
“It is long past time for the World Bank to promote mega dams like Inga as a silver bullet to address Africa’s energy needs.
The future of African energy must be decided by and for its people, not investors and corporations.”
As global calls for climate justice and sustainable development grow louder, the World Bank’s decision to move forward with Inga 3 has become a flashpoint—one that may reshape the debate over energy equity, human rights, and the future of infrastructure development in Africa.
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