DRC and Zambia Sign Agreement for US$300 Million Cross-Border Power Transmission Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 6, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Strategic Investment Fund (FIS-RDC), power developer EnPower, commodities trader Trafigura, and UK grid investment firm Gridworks signed a strategic framework agreement to jointly advance the Kalumbila–Kolwezi Interconnector Project (KKIP). The project is expected to involve an investment of US$300 million and plans to build an approximately 200-kilometer high-voltage transmission line connecting Kalumbila in Zambia with Kolwezi in the DRC, with a designed transmission capacity of 700 MW and plans to supply up to 550 MW of power to the DRC's copper-cobalt mining region.

The line will connect to the Southern African Power Pool and supply power to copper-cobalt mines and mineral processing enterprises in Lualaba Province and surrounding areas of the DRC. The project plans to use a 330 kV double-conductor transmission line, supported by three substations, two of which will be located in Kolwezi. The transmission system is planned to adopt an N-1 redundant configuration, with long-term transmission capacity potentially increasing to more than 1,000 MW. The DRC's copper-cobalt mining region currently faces a power shortfall of more than 1,000 MW, with some mines relying on diesel generators to maintain production.

On October 7, Hervé Otschudi, head of Trafigura's DRC operations, said that according to relevant estimates, mining companies could save approximately US$1 billion per year in energy costs by replacing diesel generation with cross-border power imports. The project plans to open power supply to local mining companies and provide licensed Zambian power generators with a cross-border power sales channel.

Gridworks plans to serve as the project's main equity investor and controlling shareholder, with the DRC's Strategic Investment Fund and EnPower also participating in equity investment. Trafigura is responsible for arranging a substantial portion of the debt financing, and the partners are in discussions with relevant Zambian institutions regarding equity participation. EnPower has been involved in developing the project since 2017 and has obtained a DRC power trading license and Southern African Power Pool membership.

Before the four parties signed the agreement, the project had already obtained the relevant concessions, permits, and other approvals and entered the late development stage. Follow-up work includes finalizing equity and debt financing, determining engineering and construction arrangements, and completing pre-construction preparations. The project has not yet announced an official start date, the date of first power delivery, or the final power sales price.