- ZESCO Limited (ZESCO), Zambia’s national electricity utility, and Anzana Electric Group (Anzana) have committed to the key terms of a joint venture for a US$300 million investment that will enable the rehabilitation and expansion of the national electricity network to provide first-time grid-connections for nearly 2 million Zambians by 2030.
“This is about more than infrastructure, it is about regional integration, jobs, and powering a better future for Zambians along the Lobito economic corridor,” said ZESCO Managing Director Eng. Justin Loongo. “We are excited to partner with Anzana who is employing an innovative and inclusive approach to attract capital and rapidly increase electrification rates in rural Zambia.”
The agreement enables not only significant investment in electrifying households, businesses, and industry, but also in new distributed generation to support the reliability of supply in the service area.
Lobito Corridor. Image credit: APRI
The collaboration between ZESCO and Anzana will support new electricity generation, including run-of-river hydropower, and electricity distribution primarily in rural areas, efforts which are critical to unlocking the full potential of the Lobito Corridor to the Zambian economy. The Angola-Zambia-DRC corridor is being developed as a major economic artery for Southern and Central Africa, enhancing trade flow between these mineral-rich regions and global export markets. The agreement envisions that Anzana will lead the development of a pilot project in the North-Western Province of Zambia intended to accelerate the first connections in 2026. Anzana and other development partners will jointly invest US$50 million to enable approximately 40,000 new household and business connections and add up to 8 megawatts of new generation over the course of two years, before expanding the scope to encompass the entire Lobito Corridor region.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
