Zambia signs $2bn solar power development pact with UAE

Zambia and the UAE signed a $2bn agreement to build solar plants in the southern African country that will increase its generation base by more than half.

The joint venture between Zambia’s state-owned power utility, Zesco, and a UAE government-owned renewable energy company, Masdar, targets the development of 2,000 megawatts of solar power projects, President Hakainde Hichilema said in a statement on his Facebook page.

Construction will be done in phases, starting with the installation of 500 megawatts, Hichilema said.

MoU & Joint Development Agreement signed today will see @ZescoL partner with @Masdar to develop large-scale solar projects across the country, starting with installation of 500MW. This unprecedented US$2billion capital injection shows strong investor confidence in #Zambia. #CMO pic.twitter.com/foLJNSJ3fb

— Hakainde Hichilema (@HHichilema) January 17, 2023

“This is not a loan but a capital injection in which the Zambian people, through Zesco, will be partners in shareholding,” he said.

Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, has an installed electricity generation capacity of 3,500 megawatts.

The country is currently suffering rolling blackouts lasting as long as 12 hours a day after water levels in the Kariba Dam — used by the nation and neighboring Zimbabwe to generate hydropower — declined drastically.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s Masdar inks agreement to develop solar plant in Turkmenistan