DRC: La Cominière in the sights of 12 NGOs
A dozen national organizations accuse the public company Cominière SA of blocking the Manono Lithium project. Indeed, to launch the exploitation of this strategic mineral, there is a prerequisite, it is access to electrical energy. However, the discussions around the rehabilitation of the hydroelectric power stations of Mpyana Mwanga seem to skate.
In a press release published on November 20, 12 civil society organizations return to the chronology of the facts which illustrate this blockage. Since colonial times, the territory of Manono has been home to two hydroelectric dams belonging to this day to Cominière SA. These are Mpyana Mwanga I and II located 87 km from the center of Manono. However, these dams require rehabilitation as they were destroyed during the 1997-1998 war. Because the restoration of electrical energy in Manono is an imperative for the exploitation of Lithium by the company AVZ Mineral.
Stalled talks
As a result, AVZ POWER SAU, another Australian company, had in June 2019 expressed its interest in a hydroelectric development project for the Mpiana-Mwanga site. There followed not only several exchanges of correspondence with the Congolese State but also field missions. A technical coordination committee has even been created, one of whose members is the Cominière representative.
Read also:
https://magazinelaguardia.info/2022...un-permis-dexploitation-du-lithium-de-manono/
Then, on January 13, 2020, the DRC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the company AVZ POWER SAU. This concerned the rehabilitation of the hydroelectric power stations of Mpiana-Mwanga I and II. And in March 2020, AVZ POWER SAU transmitted to the Ministry of Hydraulic Resources the feasibility study of the Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric power plant. In addition, the company continued with studies and field visits which culminated in April 2021 with the approval of the feasibility study.
In addition, the file takes another turn during the year 2022. The company Cominiere SA, owner of the Mpyana Mwanga power plants, is launching a call for tenders. According to civil society organizations, this public company claims that the said power stations are abandoned. A Chinese company Zijin would even be selected to carry out rehabilitation work. A situation that creates confusion and blocks the progress of the Lithium mining project, deplore the NGOs. They therefore ask the government to restore order and respect its commitments to AVZ POWER.
La Cominière s'oppose-t-elle à la réhabilitation des centrales hydroélectriques de Mpyana Mwanga par AVZ POWER ?
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