KINSHASA, July 20, 2014—Makhtar Diop, the World Bank Vice President for Africa, will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo from July 24-28, 2014. During his visit, Diop will meet with Congolese authorities. He will also hold discussions with civil society representatives and development partners.
Diop last visited DRC just over 12 months ago as part of an historical trip to the Great Lakes region by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. His latest trip confirms the World Bank Group's determination to deepen its development support to the government and people of DRC.
In DRC, the Bank Vice President will also visit the Inga hydropower site. In March this year, the World Bank Group provided a grant of $73.1 million to finance the Inga 3 Basse Chute (BC) and Mid-Size Hydropower Development Technical Assistance Project. This project will allow the DRC to exploit its vast hydropower potential. Although the country possesses the third largest hydropower potential in the world after China and Russia, less than 10% of the Congolese people currently have access to electricity.
“Supporting transformative projects that expand people's access to reliable, affordable electricity is central to achieving the World Bank Group's twin goals of helping to end extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity,” said Makhtar Diop, Vice President, World Bank Africa Region.
The World Bank Group is one of the DRC's main development partners. Its portfolio includes 25 projects in the process of being implemented, representing an overall commitment of $3.5 billion.
