Zambia’s national electricity utility, ZESCO Limited, and the Africa-focused developer Anzana Electric Group have finalized a joint venture agreement to invest $300 million in expanding electricity access along the Zambian stretch of the Lobito Corridor. The partnership, announced at July’s Invest Zambia International Conference in Lusaka in the presence of President Hakainde Hichilema, is set to deliver first-time grid connections to nearly two million people by 2030, a milestone in Zambia’s drive toward universal electricity access.
The project will rehabilitate and expand Zambia’s transmission and distribution infrastructure while adding new generation capacity, including run-of-river hydropower, to ensure supply reliability. A pilot phase is expected to begin in North-Western Province in 2026, targeting 40,000 new household and business connections and an additional eight megawatts of capacity. That initial $50 million pilot, backed by Anzana and other development partners, is designed as a fast start ahead of the larger corridor-wide rollout.
Read also: CABI BioProtection Portal wins 2025 Gold Stevie Award for sustainable farming innovation
ZESCO Managing Director Justin Loongo framed the partnership as transformative, not just in energy terms but for the broader economy. “This is about more than infrastructure,” he said. “It is about regional integration, jobs, and powering a better future for Zambians along the Lobito economic corridor.”
Anzana, which has built a track record in hydropower and distribution projects across East, Central and Southern Africa, is positioning the Lobito venture as part of a new regional model for energy investment. “The strategic Lobito economic corridor approach is a model for future regional trade and development,” said Brian Kelly, Anzana’s chief executive. “Reliable electricity opens the door to industrial activity, services, and livelihoods. We are honoured to partner with ZESCO and the Government of Zambia to deliver on this vision.”
The corridor itself carries strategic weight well beyond Zambia. Stretching from Angola’s Atlantic coast through the Democratic Republic of Congo into Zambia, the Lobito Corridor is being developed as a major economic artery for Southern and Central Africa, linking mineral-rich inland provinces to export markets. Energy infrastructure is seen as a prerequisite for unlocking that trade potential, particularly in North-Western Zambia, where copper and cobalt reserves remain underutilized due to limited power access.
For the government of President Hichilema, the joint venture fits into an ambitious national agenda. Zambia has set 2030 as the target year for universal electricity access. Current estimates suggest around half the country’s population still lives without reliable power, with rural areas most affected. Expanding access is seen as vital not only for household welfare but also for diversifying the economy and attracting industrial investment.
The financing structure reflects a blend of commercial and concessional capital, drawing in both private investors and development financiers. Anzana is backed by private American investors and by Gridworks Development Partners, a transmission and distribution investor owned by British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution. That mix of financing is intended to spread risk while ensuring affordability of tariffs for consumers.
ZESCO, a vertically integrated public utility generating about 3,000 megawatts from its fleet of large and small hydro plants, is also pursuing a more diversified generation mix, including solar and other renewables. With 11,000 kilometers of transmission lines and links into the Southern African Power Pool, the company sits at the center of regional electricity trade. The Lobito partnership, however, is a reminder that large swathes of Zambia’s own population remain unserved, even as the country exports power to neighbors.
Read also: African Energy Chamber opens new office in Shanghai to strengthen China–Africa Energy ties
Energy analysts say the joint venture illustrates a shift toward corridor-based infrastructure planning, where energy, transport, and trade investments are packaged together to create integrated development zones. If the Lobito project delivers, it could serve as a template for electrification initiatives across other regional trade corridors, from the North–South route linking South Africa and Zambia to the Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia corridor in East Africa.
The government of Zambia hopes the $300 million plan with Anzana will be the catalyst to push the country toward its universal access target and to demonstrate that partnerships blending state utilities, private developers, and development financiers can accelerate rural electrification. The first test will come in 2026 when the pilot in North-Western Province switches on its first connections.
