Zambia has just signed contracts with a consortium of Chinese firms to build a two-megawatt solar plant, with battery storage, in every one of its 156 constituencies. That’s 312 megawatts of decentralised clean power, wired into the national grid, in a single nationwide programme.
Once completed, the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative is expected to become one of Zambia’s most extensive renewable energy programmes, significantly increasing the country’s solar generation capacity while reducing dependence on hydropower.
The investment is also expected to strengthen resilience against future drought-related electricity shortages, diversify the national energy mix and provide a foundation for sustained economic growth driven by improved access to reliable power.
Carlos Martinez comments:
“For all the hypocritical and idiotic Western hand-wringing about “debt traps” and “Chinese influence”, it is China that turns up with the panels, the batteries, the financing and the engineers, on terms that leave ownership and revenue in Zambian hands. The countries that spent centuries extracting Zambia’s copper offer lectures; China offers modernisation and clean energy.”
“This is South-South cooperation in action: not slogans, but a solar plant in every constituency. A poorer country developing on its own terms, with a partner that treats it as an equal. It is exactly the future the imperial order is desperate to prevent.”
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The Xinhua article follows:
LUSAKA, July 14 (Xinhua) — The Zambian government on Tuesday signed contracts with a consortium of five Chinese firms for the design, supply, and installation of two-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plants in each of the country’s 156 constituencies.
The contracts were signed during a ceremony in Lusaka, the country’s capital, under the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative, a flagship program aimed at expanding Zambia’s electricity generation capacity from the current 3,500 megawatts to 10,000 megawatts by 2030.
Nicholas Phiri, permanent secretary for technical services in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, said the program, approved by the cabinet in November last year, spearheads a nationwide renewable energy rollout aimed at eradicating structural power deficits and fostering localized wealth creation.
“The program is directly aligned with Zambia’s broader macro-economic and developmental goals. By integrating these solar assets into the national grid, the initiative supports the long-term target of expanding Zambia’s power generation capacity,” he said.
The initiative will stimulate local economic growth, create jobs and strengthen service delivery, he said, adding that 70 new constituencies, which were created this year, will also be added to the project. ■
Sources:
Xinhua, July 15, 2026. https://english.news.cn/…/7afb775a68654bdf86f…/c.html…
Lusaka Times, July 15, 2026. https://www.lusakatimes.com/2026/07/15/government-rolls-out-k4-3bn-solar-project-for-every-constituency/
