LUSAKA, January 20, 2025 – A new World Bank backed project, the Zambia – Tanzania Interconnector Project (ZTIP), will enable Zambia to access more sustainable and affordable energy to power its economy and boost job creation.
The project will benefit existing and prospective users of electricity services in Zambia and throughout the Southern Africa region through improved security of supply and the potential to reduce the cost of service through increased electricity trade. This will also enable electricity access in rural areas, leading to improved education and health services, boosting productivity, and facilitating business expansion.
ZTIP, with a net commitment of $292 million, complements regional and national efforts to address the long-term sustainability of the energy sector and support universal access to electricity.
“The power sector in Zambia faces significant financial viability issues, hindering economic growth. Through the ZTIP, the World Bank will partner with Zambia to increase power transmission capacity between Zambia and Tanzania, and therefore between East and Southern Africa,” said Achim Fock, World Bank Country Manager for Zambia.
The ZTIP is part of World Bank’s Regional Energy Transmission, Trade, and Decarbonization-Southern Africa-Multiphase Programmatic Approach (RETRADE-SA MPA), which aims to increase power trade, climate resilience and the low carbon development of the electricity grid in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
The total $292 million financing is provided in grant, of this, $245 million is from the International Development Association (IDA)*, $17 million from the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), and $30 million from the European Union (EU).
“ZTIP transmission line will transform Africa’s energy markets as it will complete the last part of the transmission corridor that connects the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) and Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), creating the largest geographic energy market in the world—from Cape Town to Cairo — to lower electricity costs across the entire region,” said Yadviga Semikolenova, Energy Practice Manager for Eastern and Southern Africa. “For Zambia, it will strengthen its resilience to climate shocks and reinforce the Zambian transmission system required to enable new renewable energy generation projects and the expansion of access.”
Given Zambia’s heavy reliance on hydropower generation, access to diverse sources of electricity will reduce electricity supplier ZESCO’s exposure to periods of poor hydrology in the future. Through the ZTIP, ZESCO will benefit from a strengthened transmission backbone with the introduction of 330 kilovolts line to transfer power for planned generation projects.
*The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s low-income countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for its 75 client countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Since 1960, IDA has provided $552 billion to 115 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $36 billion over the last three years (FY21-FY23), with about 75% going to Africa.
