Southern African countries

Zambia is a former colony of Great Britain and attained political independence on the 24th October 1964. Zambia has managed to avoid political upheavals and conflicts that have marked much of Africa’s post-colonial history, earning itself a reputation for political stability. Zambia’s high fertility rate continues to drive rapid population growth, averaging almost 3 percent annually between 2000 and 2010.

Zambia had one of the world’s fastest growing economies for the ten years up to 2014, with real GDP growth averaging roughly 6.7% per annum. Growth slowed during the period 2015 to 2017, due to falling copper prices, reduced power generation, and depreciation of the kwacha. Zambia’s lack of economic diversification and dependency on copper as its sole major export makes it vulnerable to fluctuations in the world commodities market

Air Transport

Zambia has four international airports, five airstrips and five secondary airfields that serve the domestic and international flights. The main airport is Lusaka Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. Other smaller airports include Livingstone and Mfuew, Ndola along with secondary airfields including Kasama, Kitwe, Chipata, Mongi, Mansa and Solwezi. Zambia recently adopted open sky policy along with current establishment of an air cargo hub to connect with the Southern African region.

Zambia Road Network

In the approximately 37,000 km road structure, 6,476 km are surfaced to class 1 standard and are bituminous. The earth and gravel roads account for almost 8,478 km and 21,967 km respectively. Some of the toll routes that form the backbone of Zambian national road network include Kipri Mposhi to Nakonde, Solwezi to Kazungula and Lusaka to Mchinji via Chipata. There are 30,000 km of ungazetted community road that comprises of trails, tracks and footpaths. Zambia is the second largest producer of copper in Africa and the industry relies heavily on the roads for shipping exports and mine inputs overseas through eight neighboring countries. The road network of Zambia is also used heavily by neighboring countries to provide shorter and reliable path to different ports of Africa. As the economy of Zambia has accelerated, roads development projects have been launched. One such project is Link Zambia 8,000, also known as Accelerated National Roads Construction Programme, aimed at improving the current situation of roads in Zambia by rehabilitating and constructing the road network. The development of international highways and efficient road network will link Zambia to Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi, Congo and Namibia.

Zambia Railway Network

In Zambia, railways are the leading transportation mode for goods on the international and local routes. Total length of Zambian railway network is more than 2922 kilometers. 900 kilometers out of these are main lines while the rest of the network is branch line railway. Zambia Railways is the main railway line owned by government whereas the TAZARA line is jointly owned by Tanzanian and Zambian governments. This railway line connects Tanzania with Zambia. Recently, the Chipata-Mchinji railway link was opened that provides connectivity into Malawi railway. This further connects Zambia to railway network of Mozambique and opens up various exciting and new opportunities for private sector in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. Although Zambian railway has been operating well below the actually designed capacity there hasn’t been much significant increase in their volumes due to lack of locomotive, poor track conditions and wagon ability along with low operating capital. In order to develop surface transport sector, Zambian government is currently focused on developing railway network. Further enhancement of rail routes will help Zambia not only in establishing smooth access to different countries but also overall trade boost in the sub-region, eventually making Zambia a competitive business country.

Opportunities  To Invest in The Zambian Transport Sector

The private sector is being encouraged to participate in the rehabilitation and development of railway infrastructure in Zambia.

Some of the major opportunities of railway development in Zambia include:

• Jimbe to Chingola (Sharing border with Angolan). This is the railway line that links the existing Chingola line through Solwezi to the Jibme’s boarder town. It will enhance the transportation of passenger and freight traffic.
• Kafue (Zambia): This is the railway line that will link Ziwa Zimbabe to Zambia Railway. Ziwa is the shortest route to the Baira port in Mozambique.
• Extension of Chipata/Mchinji railway line to TAZARA: This railway line network will link the Chipata-Mchinji line to port of Nacala in Mozambique through Petauke District.
• TAZARA Nseluka: These railway lines link TAZARA line to Mpulungu Port at Nseluka. Their primary function would be to facilitate exports and imports from the region of Great Lakes to the ports on the Indian Ocean.
• Railway link with Namibia and Zambia: this railway line network construction include rehabilitation of Mulobezi line partially along with feasibility study regarding spur construction between Katima Mulilo and Livingstone via Kazungula, connecting to Nambian Railway system as part of the Livingstone-Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lusaka-Lubumbashi corridor. Read more at:

Source: Zambia transport, Information retrieved 05.05.2021(https://www.zambiainvest.com/transport )

Telecommunication systems

General assessment: service is among the best in Sub-Saharan Africa; regulator promotes competition and is a partner to private sector service providers, offering mobile voice and Internet at some of the lowest prices in the region; investment made in data centers, education centers, and computer assembly training plants; operators invest in 3G and LTE-based services; Chinese company Huawei is helping to upgrade state-owned mobile infrastructure for 5G services; operators focused on improvements to towers (2020)

• Telephones - fixed lines: total subscriptions: 96,719: subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.). Country comparison to the world: 138
• Telephones - mobile cellular: total subscriptions: 17,220,607. subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 95.78 (2019 est.). Country comparison to the world: 64
• International: country code - 260; multiple providers operate overland fiber optic routes via Zimbabwe/South Africa, Botswana/Namibia and Tanzania provide access to the major undersea cables
• Internet country code: .zm
• Internet users: total: 2,351,646. Percent of population: 14.3% (July 2018 est.). Country comparison to the world: 113

Source

Renewable energy sources are abundant in Zambia. Small and large hydropower is the major contributor to the country’s electricity supply and will be further developed over the next decades, given its high technical potential. Furthermore, high solar irradiation values promise strong potential for the development of solar PV-based generation. With declining technology costs, there is potential for expansion of solar PV, recently evidenced by the IFC’s Scaling Solar program and SIDA’s Beyond the Grid Fund.

Useful link: https://www.get-invest.eu/market-information/zambia/useful-links/

Solar Potential

The country has an average 2,000-3,000 hours of sunshine per year. Average irradiation is 5.5 kWh/m²/day, with northern areas recording the highest global solar irradiation, of 2,300 kWh/m²/year.

Wind Potential

Wind energy potential in Zambia is relatively limited. Wind data collected at 10 meters above the ground indicate speeds of between 0.1 to 3.5 meters per second with an annual average of 2.5 m/s. These wind speeds are not particularly suitable for electricity generation, but may be suited for water pumping for household use and irrigation purposes. There are specific areas in the Western Province where wind regimes are estimated to be as high as 6 m/s.

Hydro Potential

The country’s electricity production is heavily dependent on hydroelectric generation, which currently comprises 95% of its energy generation mix. Zambia’s hydro generation potential is estimated at more than 6,000 MW. Several existing large hydro facilities are currently being upgraded by ZESCO with support of several donors, while a substantial pipeline of projects in planning stages has been elaborated, including the 2,400 MW Batoka Gorge Dam power project and the 850 – 1,200 MW Luapula hydro scheme. A large and untapped potential remains for small scale hydropower, especially for rural electrification.

Bioenergy Potential

Zambia has a total biomass resource and economic bioenergy potential of approximately 2.15 million tons and 498 MW, respectively. The largest feedstock contributions are from agricultural and forest waste. The government sees bioenergy as a viable option for electricity production, which is hence considered in public energy expansion plans. With regard to household cooking energy, nearly 60% of the country’s households rely on fuelwood for cooking. SNV has developed a feasibility study for biogas applications on the basis of animal waste, identifying strong technical potential in the livestock and dairy sectors, and ERB has developed a draft Code Of Practice for biogas installations.

Geothermal Potential

Of 80 hot springs in Zambia, 35 were rated highly in terms of surface temperature, flow rate, and proximity to power lines, indicating ease of access and relative energy potential. These springs have not been tapped for industrial or energy provision purposes. At present there is one geothermal generation plant in the country. The plant was installed following an initiative of the Italian Government in the mid 1980’s. Two 120-kW turbines were installed at Kapisya Hot Springs in 1987. Recent estimates indicate that the plant can be upgraded to produce 2 MW of electricity. Efforts are being now being made by ZESCO to revive the plant. At least one private developer, Kalahari Geo-Energy, is exploring geothermal resources in the country.

Source: Renewable Energy Potential, Information retrieved 05.05.2021