A planned 200-kilometer (124-mile) Kalumbila-Kolwezi Interconnector will link Zambia's system with the DRC's copperbelt, routing power into Katanga's mining and industrial hubs. Initially, as much as 700 megawatts could be brought in through the corridor, with capacity designed to grow beyond a gigawatt. It will connect to a substation on First Quantum Minerals' Sentinel mine site in Kalumbila, and it will strengthen Congo's tie into the Southern African Power Pool, the regional platform for cross-border power trading. Zambia's regulator signed off on the project last year.
Commodity traders are becoming power producers, which is a notable shift. Market Briefs covers energy infrastructure free every weekday.
According to a joint statement, equity will come from the DRC's Strategic Investment Fund, EnPower, and Gridworks Development Partners LLP, part of British International Investment Plc. Trafigura has agreed to arrange a "significant share" of the debt financing.
There is growing momentum across African markets to move surplus power to areas that lack it, especially in mining regions that often lean on diesel. That shift is drawing trading houses that see upside from selling electricity and from proximity to critical minerals.
As Gridworks CEO Chris Flavin put it, "Zambia and the DRC both stand to benefit from closer interconnection, and this project will give the copperbelt access to reliable, competitively priced power and lay the foundation for further cross-border transmission investment." He added, "While the project is anchored by mining offtake, there is capacity on the line to serve the wider population."
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