Kouilou-Niari River

The Kouilou-Niari River—also spelled Kwilu, Kwila, or Kwil—is the most important river flowing to the Atlantic Ocean of the Republic of the Congo coast.

[1] The river has numerous waterfalls and is impassable from its mouth, which is of difficult access by multiple sandbars, formed primarily by the action of the Benguela current.

In Sounda, a large hydro electrical project has been evaluated since the mid 1950s when France was looking at developing the region.

Ten years of research have led to a tunnel built in the mountain, a bridge and a camp established on site.

In May 2011, a protocole d'accord has been signed with a South African Company IDG and the Republic of Congo for the development of the Sounda dam project.