Friday, March 29, 2024

World Bank Approves US$26.5 Million to Electrify Rural Areas of Zambia

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World Bank Country Manager for Zambia Ms. Ina Ruthenberg with Mr Mutati
FILE: World Bank Country Manager for Zambia Ms. Ina Ruthenberg with Mr Mutati

The World Bank has approved $26.5 million International Development Association (IDA) credit to increase electricity access in 36 rural areas in nine provinces of Zambia; (Northern, North Western, Luapula, Muchinga, Copperbelt, Eastern, Western, Southern, and Central).

The Electricity Service Access Project will provide connections to the national grid for about 22,000 low-income households and about 1,000 MSEs in the selected rural areas.

“The majority of the beneficiaries will receive electricity services for the first time. Access to electricity in rural areas is important because it helps replace consumption of kerosene, diesel, dry cell batteries, and alternative fuels such as firewood that contributes to deforestation,” said Ina Ruthenberg, World Bank Country Manager for Zambia.

Overall national electricity access currently stands at 31 percent. While this figure is low in itself, it masks the significant disparity that exists between access in urban areas that stands at 67% and that in rural areas which is only 4%.

“This project therefore supports the Government of the Republic of Zambia priority of increasing electricity access in rural areas, and is aligned with two of the strategies that relate to energy in the recently launched Seventh National Development Plan (2017 – 2021), namely “Promotion of renewable and alternative energy” and “Improved access to Rural and Peri-Urban areas,” said Joseph Kapika, World Bank Senior Energy Specialist.

The project shall also support the Government in the development of a National Electrification Strategy that will provide a firm basis for further expansion of electricity access in the country.

The total cost of the proposed project is estimated at US$36.8 million, of which US$26.5 million will be financed by the International Development Association (IDA). An estimated in-kind contribution valued at US$2.7 million equivalent will be provided by the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) and ZESCO Limited, and an estimated US$0.6 million will be co-financed by households and micro and small enterprises (MSE) for on-grid connections. In addition, the Government of Sweden has in principle agreed to finance the project through the Global Partnership on Output Based Aid (GPOBA) in the amount of US$7million equivalent.

34 COMMENTS

  1. Sure! Electricity was discovered centuries ago. Koloboi is still the order of the day in rural Zambia. We have to get foreigners to fund simple electricity generation. Pathetic!

    • Koloboi in Chawama, where is rural starts from kanshi? Even koloboi in most of those Lusaka markets after 5:59pm.

    • Rural Electrification is a tool for corruption and voter bribery…no one audits Zesco expenditure and you will notice that when elections are near activity intensifies in this department.
      I am sure the still use 100 casual workers with picks and shovels when a gang of twenty can do the job with a small digger.

    • Ghana has about 75% electricity access for her citizens and Kenya about 65% rate . Whats the power access rate for Zambia?

  2. ya here is lung people there r this boys on pangiang road in lusaka formar zambia fancing they have just imported a white rang rover 6 liter the car cosy is 148 plus fright to fly that car in lusaka now where do the get this kind of money and how much duty will b paid when asked they say they will sort it out with lungu or chanda at zra now v r suppring and this boys r playing with money here IMF WORLD BANK should look in this as to how this boys got the money in to uk and how much duty will b paid

  3. borrowing to finance your own electricity… shame …
    0.6million to be financed by households and SMEs…. Hope it shall be achievable….
    When are going to pay off the loan.?….

  4. Electrifying rural areas is simply the respectable label they are using to get hold of the money. After they have gotten the money, that term “rural areas” will change to mean their own pockets. It’s PF’s pockets being electrified with more stolen money.

  5. Everyday its loans…surely you have cash to buy 42 fireengines for $42m but you dont have $27m for rural electrification.

    • @JAY JAY: THE MALIGNANT ONE
      ACCORDING TO YOUR JAUNDICED VIEWS AND THOSE OF YOUR FELLOW HATERS AND TRIBALISTS ONLY hh CAN EVER DO GOOD IN ZAMBIA.
      I HAVE NEWS FOR YOUR ILK: EVEN IN 2021 ECL WILL WIN AND BY THEN YOU WILL HAVE NO TEETH TO GNASH AT THIS RATE OF YOUR MALICE AND MALEVOLENCE.

  6. Mushota , I am older than your father….. My grandchildren shall have to pay for these debts…. You will retire in UK and feeding on Theresa May ‘s effort.
    I am older than Dr Remmy Mushota if you are related. Hs wife is Lillian Mushota. Both were lawyers.
    DEBT IS BAD

  7. Positive Financing in the Current Power Purchase Agreement -PPA Driven Zambia energy Sector

    We know that Generation projects Transmission projects that feeds into the Majority Poor Zambians are being driven in the traditional Developer(PRIVATE/ZESCO/CEC) PPA OFFTAKER(GRZ/ZESCO/MINES) taker arrangement with pricing pass thru to the majority poor domestic clients

    Often times we here from both the utility and regulator that PPAs and BSA do not affect the Domestic clients pricing or TARIFF That is not correct as in the current financing arrangement the eventual pass-through tariff is defined in the developer off taker and EPC contracts that eventually defines the economics of…

  8. economics of the Domestic client and in this case the RURAL CLIENTS

    We need to negotiate and call or put those long-time PPAs and ensure we rebalance as YOU transition to the near spot DAM markets

    Perhaps the Good Minister David Mabumba should provide more comfort letters and the DFIs such as this world bank more financing to outperform others and offer more Guarantees (underwrite Default) to the developers of plants and lines to create that appetite

    You will also need to accept that we are still in infancy ans such initiatives and support are always welcome as you solidify and develop the sector that cannot neatly fit in the PPA Offtaker arrangements…

  9. and will require such Support until such a time when productivity and capacity has be created then you can switch and allow the market to self regulate without external or subsidies from GRZ

    The amount is Too small INA may be more to set the stage

    You may not also disturb the current frame work of the utility the regulator and REA simply support the utility bundled units to be credible before and the regulator to establish the market framework before radically changing the system Such support is what is needed but if bigger and some angel investors for our potential sites that cannot be matched in PPAs to repayments We need more of angel financials and…

  10. Lusaka province is not on the list of the provinces to benefit from the loan but 90% of that money will remain in Lusaka. It will not go to designated provinces.

  11. One of the best rural electrification is one being implemented by millennium challenge in Tanzania if world bank and other could come in and mitigate the PROJECTS FINANCE and CORPORATE FINANCE of electrifications projects w have seen in style in Zambia then we could be better to achieve the Human progress embedded in the access to electricity

    We need more of such DFI such as NORDIC FUND and others Good amount but smaller than the portfolio allocated to Africa by world bank Could be more

  12. But Mushota and her murderous ERECTION also, one wonders what manner of mtototo would dement someone so bad in the head. Maybe it was a mtototo cocktail of Chimbwili’s urine, Sata’s excrement and Lungu’s sperm.

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