DR Congo to Acquire Equity Stake in $270M Zambia-DR Congo Cross-Border Power Line

DR Congo is set to take an equity stake in a $270 million cross-border power line linking the country to Zambia, its finance ministry told Semafor. The project, approved by Zambia’s energy regulator in 2025, is being developed by Enterprise Power DRC and its Zambian subsidiary. The planned 200-kilometer high-voltage power line will run from Kalumbila in northwestern Zambia to Kolwezi in DR Congo.

It will have an initial capacity of 460 MW, expandable to 550 MW. A start date for the power line project has not yet been set. 25 billion debut eurobond in April 2026.

Finance Minister Doudou Fwamba told reporters in Kinshasa that studies showed that 1 GW of additional power could double current mine production in DR Congo. DR Congo has an energy deficit estimated at more than 5,000 MW. The country also has an energy deficit of at least 900 MW for mining in the southern region.

Mining companies in DR Congo are forced to rely on expensive diesel backup due to the power deficit, Auguy Bakome told Semafor.

“The massive deficit means mining companies like his are forced to rely on expensive diesel backup.”

“— Auguy Bakome, project manager at Kamoa-Kakula Ivanhoe’s Kolwezi-based mine Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula mine is Africa’s largest copper producer. Ivanhoe has started producing copper anodes from a new smelter at Kamoa-Kakula designed to process 500,000 tonnes a year. The expansion adds a power-hungry step to an operation already underserved by the electricity shortfall. CrossBoundary Energy is developing a $250 million solar-and-storage project for Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula mine. Frank Alloghe, CrossBoundary Energy’s mining and industrial lead in Africa, told Semafor the continent’s Copperbelt is now the strategic core of the company’s Africa strategy. The solar-and-storage project for Kamoa-Kakula is expected to reach full capacity by Q3 2026. DR Congo’s long-term answer to its power shortage remains Inga III, the giant hydropower project on the Congo River. The World Bank approved a $250 million first phase of Inga III in 2025 as part of a planned $1 billion program. The World Bank pulled earlier support for Inga III in 2016 over strategic differences with the government. Inga III could eventually generate between 2 GW and 11 GW. DR Congo’s current installed capacity is approximately 2 GW. Even though DR Congo has Africa’s largest untapped hydropower potential with the Inga Dam, much of the potential remains underdeveloped and the power system still cannot meet basic demand.”