But the problems dogging the project are massive, ranging from political instability including the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) recent civil war to local objections and, not least, the massive costs involved. In fact, the earliest proposal for such a project had been made as far back as 1980, but had to be shelved due to civil strife in the region.

In order to consider the feasibility of the project, representatives from seven African governments and the world's largest banks and construction companies are brainstorming in London under the aegis of the World Energy Council (WEC).

This grand project, appropriately named the Grand Inga project, is expected to cost up to $80 billion and benefit not only the nation of origin, but also other countries in the region. Power would be transmitted to other countries via a giant new distribution system to Egypt in the north, Nigeria in the west and to South Africa, directly improving the lives of half a billion Africans without access to electricity.

Plans for the project include a dam 205 metres (670 feet) high, a reservoir more than 15 km (9 miles) long and a plant with a capacity to produce 320 terawatt hours of electricity yearly.

The Grand Inga project would be built on the Congo River alongside two existing hydroelectric plants and is expected to begin operating between 2020 and 2025. That is, if it manages to get financial and political support. As a first step in that direction, the WEC is calling for finance for a feasibility study to be done as soon as possible.

The two existing projects mentioned above are the Inga I and Inga II commissioned in 1972 and 1982 respectively. But both have fallen into disrepair and now only manage to produce about one quarter of their joint capacity of 1.7 gigawatts of electricity. The little power they are producing is going exclusively to power the mines of Katanga, with none to local people in a country where 92 per cent of the population is without electricity.

Addressing the needs of these people is one of the targeted aims of the Grand Inga project. Speaking on the occasion, Gerald Doucet, secretary-general of the WEC, said, ''We have to address the concerns of the people living in the area. There aren't many, but those who do live there haven't seen any benefit from Inga I or II.''

Both the existing projects are now being refurbished with World Bank money, but the Canadian company carrying out the work has warned that, due to silting problems, even when new machinery is installed, output will still be one-third below capacity. Another project, Inga III, with a stated capacity of 4.3 gigawatts, is also being planned but has not received financing yet.

However, the Grand Inga could solve many such problems, feels the WEC. It described Grand Inga as the greatest sustainable project that offers Africa a unique chance for interdependence and prosperity, especially now that warring parties agreed to sign peace accord.

"We are trying to bring affordable, clean energy to the DRC and Africa," Doucet told a news conference. "These projects have to benefit Africans, not only in terms of the social and civil side but also job creation and electricity connections in Africa that allow people to move out of poverty."

While Inga I, II and III do 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 offset by the benefits of the project.

According to the WEC, the project can also be beneficial to rich countries by helping them offset greenhouse gas emissions. Big business, which for years shunned Africa, has suddenly developed a new interest, attracted by the rich pickings to be had in the new carbon emissions market and the credits they can get from investing in so-called clean development projects. Using these credits, they can continue to run polluting but profitable businesses elsewhere.

The project is attracting the attention of several dam-building companies, including those Canadian, Brazilian and Chinese and the World Bank. South Africa, suffering a spate of power cuts, Nigeria and Egypt have all expressed interest in Grand Inga and Inga III, and there has been talk of exporting what would be the world's cheapest electricity to Europe and Israel.

At least 600 million Africans have been without access electricity in Africa. Also 35 out of Africa's 53 countries are at risk of unpredictable power supply.

"We have to raise the level of access to commercial energy all through Africa and other parts of the world, where this poverty is faced," Doucet said. "We can't do it without building these projects, but of course, on a sustainable basis that takes into account the social, civil and environmental issues.

"And I can say that in the past, mistakes have been made, but WEC is here to make sure those mistakes are not repeated," he added.