en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Zambian government has signed contracts with five contractor consortia to construct 2 MW solar power plants in each of the country's 156 parliamentary constituencies, totaling an installed capacity of 312 MW. The project falls under the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative (PCEI), with a total cost of 4.3 billion Zambian Kwacha (approximately $234,979). All plants are expected to be connected to the national grid operated by ZESCO, the state-owned power company.
The contracts were awarded to five consortia, including: a consortium of Sunshare Construction, China Railway Construction Engineering Group, and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation; a consortium of Golden Baobab Investments and Huawei Technologies Zambia; a consortium of Chetam Metals Fabrication and ZamChin Construction Company; and a consortium of China Jiangxi International Corporation and Qingdao Haier Photovoltaic New Energy Company. According to Zambia's Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, these projects are scheduled for completion within 12 months and are expected to create approximately 15,600 jobs during the construction phase.
The initiative, approved by the Cabinet in November 2025, aims to add generation capacity to Zambia's power system, which has recently faced supply shortages. At the contract signing ceremony, Permanent Secretary for Technical Services Nicholas Phiri stated that the electricity generated by the plants would be directly fed into the ZESCO grid to reduce the national power deficit. Phiri noted that the initiative directly aligns with Zambia's broader macroeconomic and development goals by integrating solar assets into the national grid, supporting long-term plans to expand generation capacity. Local governments will also hold equity in the plants, thereby generating sustainable revenue streams to support community development. Additionally, the achieved 10 million megawatt energy target will enable year-round crop cultivation through irrigated agriculture, directly supporting the national production target of 10 million metric tons of maize.
The initiative will be managed through a special purpose vehicle involving the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Local Government, and the Ministry of Energy, with ZESCO overseeing project management, technical standards, and grid integration. Jacques Lioa, Managing Director for Southern Africa at China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, spoke on behalf of the contractors, pledging to deliver the projects within the agreed 12-month construction period.
