The Congolese Head of State, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo has launched the construction of the photovoltaic solar power plant in Menkao a rural district of the municipality of Maluku, in Kinshasa the capitale of Democratic Republic of the Congo

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, observong the solar panels dedicated for the construction of a photovoltaic solar power plant with a capacity of 600 megawatts

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, laid the foundation stone for the construction of a photovoltaic solar power plant with a capacity of 600 megawatts, this Wednesday, August 19 in Menkau in the town of Maluku, in the presence of several personalities including the governor of the city of Kinshasa Gentiny Ngobila. 

In his capacity as governor of the city of Kinshasa, Gentiny Ngobila indicated that the construction of this plant will fill the energy deficit in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The construction of the photovoltaic solar center called "Kinshasa Solar cyti" is the initiative of The Sandi Groupe company in collaboration with the national electricity company, this project provides for a total of 1000 Megawatts spread over several sites across the city of Kinshasa. 

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, laid the foundation stone for the construction of a photovoltaic solar power plant with a capacity of 600 megawatts

It should be noted that the construction of the plant will take less than a year, and the workforce is 80% Congolese.

This is a project led by Sun Plus Ltd and is initiated by the TSG company which promises to build photovoltaic plants in Kinshasa with a total capacity of 1000 Mw. 

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, discussing with the congolese people at the occasion of the launching of the construction of a photovoltaic solar power plant with a capacity of 600 megawatts

The company has signed a power purchase contract with several customers for the development and construction of a number of photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of 1GWp. 

This project is expected to contribute to the supply of additional energy to the national grid. It will also focus on areas not covered by Kinshasa and will be carried out in several phases.

Menkao is a rural district of the municipality of Maluku. By following the direction of the national road 2 towards the province of Bandundu, it is a village which comes after N'sele Bambu (Antenna). It is part of what is commonly known as the Bateke Plateau. 

From N'djili Airport, Menkao is 55 km away and has the following major parts: Menkao II; Menkao IV; Menkao Center; Talangayi (New district with the market of May 17, 1997).

Sociologically the Teke are the natives of the region. A large part of the population remains homogeneous, but this homogeneity is running out of steam because currently with the liberalization of the soil. There is a massive influx of non-natives. More and more, the Teke are abandoning their land to live in the city of Kinshasa. 

However, a few become the labor force of non-natives. Men engage in charcoal production and women are interested in chikwangue. However, unlike the entire city of Kinshasa, the juvenile population is smaller. The majority of young people come to the city center for studies or other occupations. 

According to the soil classification, this soil is of the trenoferraso type. These soils are made up of fine sands with a clay content generally less than 20%. This is the fact that a large part of the soil of the Bateke plateau is filterable, so to avoid erosion and land subsidence, trees must be planted. Currently, this agro-forestry agriculture is gaining momentum. 

The grassy savannah is the vegetation that dominates Menkao, although often dotted with termite mounds and these tall grasses. 

The inhabitants of Menkao are predominantly farmers. They mainly grow cassava, maize, sweet potatoes, beans and peanuts. In addition, they are interested in making ember coals and chikwangue. The final destination of agricultural products from this village is the city of Kinshasa, in particular the communes of the Tshangu district, namely N'djili, N'sele, Masina, Kimbanseke, Matete. 

The Menkao market is regularly visited by women buyers coming from the towns near Maluku to buy Menkao's agricultural products. Among the problems that Menkao farmers face, we can cite water shortage, lack of mechanization and appropriate agricultural tools, lack of access to agricultural credit.

Cassien Tribunal Aungane, Editor