Lake Chad Replenishment Project
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The Lake Chad replenishment project is a proposed major water diversion scheme to divert water from the
Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...
basin to
Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...
to prevent it drying up. Various versions have been proposed. Most would involve damming some of the right tributaries of the Congo River and channeling some of the water to
Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...
via a canal to the
Chari River The Chari River, or Shari River, is a long river, flowing in Central Africa. It is the main source of water of Lake Chad, which is located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Geography The Chari River flows f ...
basin. It was first proposed in 1929 by Herman Sörgel as part of his
Atlantropa Atlantropa, also referred to as Panropa, was a Macro-engineering, gigantic engineering and colonisation idea that Germany, German architect Herman Sörgel devised in the 1920s, and promoted until his death in 1952. The proposal included several H ...
project, as a way to irrigate the Sahara. In the 1960s, Lake Chad began to shrink, and the idea was revived as a solution to that problem. The members of the Lake Chad Basin International Commission are
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
, the Central African Republic,
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
,
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
and
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
. Concerned by shrinkage of the lake's area from in 1972 to in 2002, they met in January 2002 to discuss the project. Both the ADB and the Islamic Development Bank expressed interest in the project. However, the member states of the Congo-Ubangi-Sangha Basin International Commission (
Congo-Kinshasa The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
,
Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
and the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
) expressed concern that the project would reduce the energy potential of the Inga hydroelectric dam, would affect navigation on the Ubangi and Congo rivers and would reduce fish catches on these rivers. However, even the largest proposals would divert less than 8% of the Congo's water, while the remaining 92-95% would not only reach Inga, but would produce electricity twice, first at the new dams and eventually at Inga. In 2011, the Canadian firm CIMA, under contract from Lake Chad Basin Commission, produced a feasibility study of several versions of the project.


Pumping from Ubangi

There are several proposals to divert water from the
Ubangi River The Ubangi River (; ; ; ), also spelled Oubangui, is a river in Central Africa, and the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou River, Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m3/s) and Uele Rivers (mea ...
, the biggest tributary of the Congo. This requires pumping the water some 180 m uphill, so it requires a power source, either hydroelectric or solar. The CIMA study considered a version using a dam on the Ubangi to generate 360 MW of power, 250 MW of which would be used to pump water. It was estimated to deliver 91 m3/s of water to the Chari at a cost of $10 billion. A variant of this idea would pump water from the Ubangi using solar power instead of hydroelectric power, to avoid the expense and disruption of a dam.


Damming Kotto

The CIMA feasibility study also considered diverting water from a dam on the Kotto River, a tributary of the Ubangi, near Bria. This is high enough to move water to the Chari by gravity, with no pumping needed. It was estimated to deliver 108 m3/s at a cost of $4.5 billion.


Transaqua

The most ambitious proposal, named Transaqua, was proposed by a team of engineers of the firm Bonifica. led by Dr. Marcello Vichi, It would dam not only the Kotto but also the other right tributaries to the south, including the much larger Mbomou, Uele and Aruwimi. The water would be carried north by a 2400 km navigable canal along a contour line, which would generate hydro-electricity at several points along its length. These would power new industrial townships, while the canal would replenish the lake. The total water delivered would be more than 1500 m3/s, which is 5-8% of the Congo's average flow, and more than the current total inflow to Lake Chad. But the cost would be more than $50 billion. This plan was initially considered unlikely to materialize as late as 2005. It was rejected in favor of a smaller water-transfer scheme from the Ubangi. The Lake Chad Basin Commission, however, judged that the project, which involved pumping water upwards from the Ubangi River, was not sufficient to replenish Lake Chad, and adopted Transaqua as the "only feasible" project at the International Conference on Lake Chad, on 26–28 Feb. 2018. Following the ICLC, representatives of the LCBC and the Italian government signed a MoU for initial funding for the Transaqua feasibility study on 16 October 2018. On 16 December 2019, an amendment introduced by Italian Sen. Tony Iwobi to the 2021 Italian budget law included a financing of 1.5 million Euro for the feasibility study. On 13 November 2020, Former Italian Prime Minister, former EU Commission chief and former UN Special Envoy for the Sahel Romano Prodi stated that the populations around Lake Chad could not wait any longer and called for the EU, the UNO, the Organization for African Unity and China to join hands to finance and build Transaqua. A large merit for the success of Transaqua has been attributed to activists from the LaRouche movement.


Alternative inland waterway

In addition to moving water, this proposal would create an inland
waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...
from the
Ubangi River The Ubangi River (; ; ; ), also spelled Oubangui, is a river in Central Africa, and the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou River, Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m3/s) and Uele Rivers (mea ...
to the
Chari River The Chari River, or Shari River, is a long river, flowing in Central Africa. It is the main source of water of Lake Chad, which is located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Geography The Chari River flows f ...
), around 366 km channel, from the Gigi River (close to DjoukouGalabadja in
Kémo Kémo is one of the 20 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Sibut. In 2024, official estimates suggest the population reached 197,538 inhabitants. Notable people * Andrée Blouin, political activist, human rights ad ...
), through
Sibut Sibut (), formerly Fort Sibut () is the capital of Kémo, one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. An important transport hub, it is situated north of the capital Bangui and is known for its market. Sibut is located at t ...
, Bouca and then to Batangafo (over the Boubou River and into the Ouham River and then the
Chari River The Chari River, or Shari River, is a long river, flowing in Central Africa. It is the main source of water of Lake Chad, which is located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Geography The Chari River flows f ...
). This path is the same one used by the CIMA study (water flow 100 m3/s, the same as the
Moscow Canal The Moscow Canal (), named the Moskva–Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal in Russia that connects the Moskva (river) with the Volga. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast. The canal connects to the Moskva River in Tushino (an ...
), only sizing the channel and adapting the river and locks to support ships.


Chad-Congo inland waterway

This waterway could link
Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...
with the
Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...
inland navigation system and the waterway
transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ground transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has always been problematic. Despite other countries being able to conquer terrain and climate similar to that of the Congo Basin it is chronic economic mismanagement and internal confli ...
. The navigable waterway system in Congo can be upgraded from
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...
to Matadi sea port, already planned as an option in the
Inga dams The Inga Dams (French language, French: ''Barrages d'Inga''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Ingadam'') are two hydroelectric dams connected to one of the largest waterfalls in the world, Inga Falls. They are located in the western Democratic Republic o ...
project. As well as it is "feasible" from
Lake Mweru Lake Mweru (also spelled ''Mwelu'', ''Mwero'') (, ) is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up of the total length ...
( Pweto city) through
Luvua River The Luvua River (or ''Lowa River'') () is a river in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It flows from the northern end of Lake Mweru on the Zambia-Congo border in a northwesterly direction for to its confluence ...
to Ankoro (requiring dams and a Boat lift in
Boyoma Falls Boyoma Falls (, , ), formerly known as Stanley Falls ( French: ''Chutes Stanley''; Dutch: ''Stanleywatervallen''), is a series of seven cataracts, each no more than high, extending over more than along a curve of the Lualaba River between the ...
, like the Three Gorges dam ship lift), or the waterway into the
Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...
in Kalemie through the Lukuga River up to Kabalo ( Zanza village), now linked by railway.
Description of Inland Waterways in the Congo from the UN Joint Logistics Centre


Comparison to other channels

A channel from the Ubangi to Chari would travel double the distance of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, three times the
Moscow Canal The Moscow Canal (), named the Moskva–Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal in Russia that connects the Moskva (river) with the Volga. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast. The canal connects to the Moskva River in Tushino (an ...
or the Volga–Don Canal, or about the same length as the Volga–Baltic Waterway (that forms part of the Unified Deep Water System of European Russia). It would be five times shorter than China's Grand Canal (built during the
Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...
) and ten times shorter than the entire
Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...
and
Great Lakes Waterway The Great Lakes Waterway (GLW) is a system of natural channels and artificial locks and canals that enable navigation between the North American Great Lakes. Although all of the lakes are naturally connected as a chain, water travel between the ...
(waterway from
Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...
, to the Atlantic Ocean).


References

{{reflist Water supply Water in the Central African Republic Electric power in the Central African Republic Proposed canals