Lake Chad replenishment project

There are several proposals to divert water from the Ubangi River, 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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[3]

Transaqua (in red).

The most ambitious proposal, named Transaqua,[5] was proposed by a team of engineers of the firm Bonifica.[6][7] led by Dr. Marcello Vichi,[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] [12]

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.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15]

A large merit for the success of Transaqua has been attributed to activists from the LaRouche movement.[16] [17]

Alternative inland waterway

Congo River, inland navigation system.

The drainage basin of the Congo River.

In addition to moving water, this proposal would create an inland waterway from the Ubangi River to the Chari River), around 366 km channel, from the Gigi River (close to Djoukou – Galabadja in Kémo), through Sibut, Bouca and then to Batangafo (over the Boubou River and into the Ouham River and then the Chari River).

This path is the same one used by the CIMA study (water flow 100 m³/s, the same as the Moscow Canal), only sizing the channel and adapting the river and locks to support ships.