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Seven African governments and some of the world's largest banks and construction firms are meeting in London to plan the biggest hydro-electric power project in the world.  Supporters say the $80 billion project on the Congo River could double the amount of electricity available on the African continent.

七个非洲国家的政府和一些世界上最大的银行及建筑公司在伦敦开会，商讨世界上最大的水电工程项目。支持者们说，这项建在刚果河上、耗资八百亿美元的工程也许能把非洲大陆目前的电力生产能力提高一倍。

Half a billion people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity. Where it is available, most countries suffer from erratic¹ supplies.

5亿居住在撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲地区的人得不到电力。即便在很多有电的国家，电力供应也不稳定。

The World Energy Council says the power shortage has contributed to continued poverty and underdevelopment across the continent. The Council organized the two-day London meeting to discuss the problem.

世界能源理事会说，缺电是非洲大陆仍旧在贫困和发展不足中挣扎的原因之一。该理事会在伦敦组织了一场为期两天的会议，讨论这一问题。

World Energy Council Secretary General Gerald Doucet says one solution is the Inga hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

世界能源理事会秘书长杜斯特说，解决这一问题的一个办法是刚果民主共和国的英加水电站。

"The Congo sits on the biggest energy project in the 21st century, so with our Congo committee and the utilities in the region we have been trying to facilitate the decision making that would allow this project to go forward on a sustainable and affordable² basis," said Gerald Doucet.

他说：“刚果正在建设21世纪最大的能源工程，因此，我们一直在利用世界能源理事会刚果委员会和刚果地区的设施协助决策过程，争取让这项工程在可持续和可支付的基础上发展下去。”

The Inga hydropower project could generate twice as much electricity as the world's largest dam, the Three Gorges³ in China. It is hoped that millions of Africans would benefit by having access to electricity.

英加水电站的发电量可能是目前世界上最大的水坝--中国三峡大坝的两倍。人们希望数以千万计的非洲人民能够从此获益，过上有电的生活。

The World Energy Council says electricity is a bridge to sustainable development and a prerequisite⁴ and cornerstone for economic progress, social development, harnessing technological⁵ progress and environmental sustainability.

世界能源理事会说，电力不仅是通往可持续发展的桥梁，还是经济发展、社会进步、利用技术创新以及环境可持续性的前提与基石。

The London meeting is dicussing the refurbishment of Inga 1 and 2 built in the 1970s but said to be operating under capacity and the development of Inga 3 and Grand Inga hydropower projects.

在伦敦的会议上，与会者讨论整修1970年代建造的英加一号和二号工程，据说这两个工程的能力都没有完全发挥出来。与会者还讨论建造英加三号工程和大英加水电工程。

While Inga 1, 2 and 3 would not require any damming, environmentalists have raised concerns over the Grand Inga which would lead to flooding of a valley. Doucet says no people live in the valley and whatever the environmental costs, these would be offset⁶ by the benefits of the project.

虽然英加一、二、三号工程都不需要筑坝拦水，但是大英加工程将导致河水把一个山谷淹没，环保人士对此表示关注。世界能源理事会的杜斯特秘书长说，这个山谷中没有居民，而且无论这项工程的环境成本有多高，都能被工程的益处所抵消。

Concerns have also been expressed that local people would not benefit from the project. More than 90 percent of Congolese have no access to electricity at the moment.

还有人担心当地居民无法从工程中获益。目前90%多的刚果人用不上电。

Doucet allayed⁷ those fears by saying the total cost of the project includes transmission costs within the Congo and beyond.

杜斯特的话消除了人们的这些担心。他说，项目的总成本中包括了在刚果国内建立输电线路的费用以及其它费用。

"The Congo owes it to its people and will be required in my view by its people to improve the access to electricity in Kinshasa and in the neighboring areas of Inga," he said. "There definitely is a growing desire to use Inga 3 electricity in the Congo itself, not export it."

杜斯特说：“刚果要感谢它的人民，我认为，刚果人民将要求改善金沙萨和英加水电站周边地区的供电状况。人们当然越来越渴望把英加三号工程的电用在刚果，而不是用于出口。”

If and when completed, the Grand Inga hydropower project is expected to export power to countries in the region and others as far as Nigeria and Egypt.

如果兴建大英加水电站，那么在这项工程完工时，预计它将能向这一地区的其它国家出口电力，还能向尼日利亚和埃及等国远距离供电。