MINT & BRICS | Harnessing growth


IWP&DC looks at recent developments taking place in member countries of the MINT & BRICS associations


THE LEADERS OF BRAZIL, Russia, India, and China met for the first time in 2006 and, shortly afterwards, formally became known as BRIC in an effort to bring together some of world’s most promising and emerging economies. In 2010 South Africa then joined the group and BRICS was formed. Together these countries comprise 41% of the world population, have 24% of world GDP and over 16% of world trade (based on 2019 figures), and often come together under the three pillars of policy and security, economics and finances, and culture. With the exception of China, as BRICS growth began


Above: The Mexican government is concentrating on modernising and overhauling its fleet of dams


Below: A tour boat visiting the Chicoasén Dam on the Grijalva River, which is important for water storage and hydroelectric power in Southern Mexico © Daniela Constantinescu / Shutterstock.com


to slow investor attention gradually turned to the MINT bloc of countries comprising Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. MINT was formed in 2011 based on these countries’ future growth potential according to favourable geographic, demographic, and economic factors. For example, Nigeria was reportedly chosen due to its wealth of natural resources while Indonesia has a large workforce which is viewed as being a significant economic asset. Although these countries have noticeably smaller economies than BRICS, they do have the potential to be ranked among the top ten global economies by 2050, but analysts warn investment here does not necessarily guarantee profits – MINT member countries can still suffer from political instability, corruption, and the aftermath of previous economic problems.


Once viewed as a loose association of disparate


emerging economies, Reuters reports that in recent years the BRICS group has taken more concrete shape. Indeed, discussions are currently underway to look at expanding the block in an effort to become “a champion of the developing world” and position itself as a counterweight to Western countries. Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Egypt, Argentina, Bangladesh, and Kazakhstan are reported to have shown interest in future development and have been involved in recent Friends of BRICS expansion talks.


Below: Aerial view of Jatiluhur – a multi-purpose embankment dam on the Citarum River and the largest dam in Indonesia


Mexico In Mexico, with its varied topography and extensive


river systems, hydropower has an estimated 20GW of


exploitable hydropower potential. Out of 18 countries in North and Central America, Mexico is ranked third with 12,614MW of total installed hydropower capacity, according to the International Hydropower Association’s 2023 World Hydropower Outlook. With hydropower currently providing about 11% of the country’s total annual electricity generation, IHA says that this continues to grow due to direct government investment in the modernisation of existing hydropower fleets and the development of new projects. CFE, the country’s federal power company, has


recouped 261MW of capacity so far and drawn 31% more power from its aged hydropower fleet that it is currently overhauling and modernising. Indeed last year CFE also announced that optimising water management on the Grijalva River basin led to a 41% increase in electricity generation year on year.


Indonesia The Indonesian government has been praised by the


World Water Council for its efforts to construct dams and address water resource management problems, helping to improve food and water security. World Water Council President, Loic Fauchon, even described the country as being a world champion in dam construction. Set to host the 10th World Water Forum in 2024, Indonesia is urging other governments to stop ignoring water, which it describes as being a political problem that requires government attention to deal with all current water-related problems that include scarcity and natural disasters such as droughts and floods. “Don’t ignore this water problem,” said Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, who is also Vice Chairman of the 10th World Water Forum National Organising Committee and believes that European water shortages have been caused by climate change and a lack of reservoirs. “It’s because of politics,” Minister Basuki claimed and gave the contrasting example of Indonesia that is building 61 dams and will complete 13 this year. Indonesia says its dams are not only beneficial for flood control but water supply and irrigation too. From 2015-22, it completed 36 dams which can irrigate crop fields four times the size of Jakarta, and provide additional water to fulfil the needs of ten million people. From a hydropower perspective Indonesia has


a total installed capacity of 6602MW and is ranked sixth out of 20 countries across East Asia and Pacific, according to the IHA’s World Hydropower Outlook.


Nigeria Ranked eight out of 43 listed African countries, Nigeria


has a total installed hydropower capacity of 2111MW. Recent developments here include the selection of Mainstream Energy as the concessionaire for the 700MW Zungeru hydropower plant, while there is hope that the required capital can be sourced to double the existing capacity of the Egbin power plant to 2.6 GW.


26 | July 2023 | www.waterpowermagazine.com


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