• Zambia creates ZNEC SPV to deliver 312MW constituency renewable programme nationwide.
• US$202m plan funded 70% debt, 30% equity, with ZCCM-IH holding 60%.
• Governance hinges on fairness opinion and disciplined procurement to protect shareholders and attract capital.

ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc has moved to formalise a national energy delivery vehicle in a way that reads less like routine corporate housekeeping and more like a policy execution blueprint. In a transaction notice dated 16 January 2026, the company informed the market that it has incorporated a Special Purpose Vehicle called Zambia National Energy Corporation Limited, alongside the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, with the first assignment being the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative after Cabinet approval on 24 November 2025.

The headline ambition is large and deliberately broad based. ZNEC is expected to deploy renewable energy solutions across all 156 constituencies, at an estimated 2MW per constituency, implying a 312MW target installed capacity. If delivered, that kind of distributed build-out is not just about adding megawatts. It is about narrowing reliability gaps in underserved areas and enabling local enterprise to function without the hidden tax of power outages.

What makes this development worth attention across SADC is not only the megawatt figure, but the institutional architecture Zambia is trying to put in place. ZCCM-IH describes ZNEC as a dedicated energy investment and delivery vehicle responsible for end to end coordination from project identification and feasibility to capital structuring, financing, execution and oversight, while working with government institutions, financiers, independent power producers and private sector participants to attract capital and mitigate project risks. This is the sort of build that aims to turn energy policy into a repeatable delivery system, rather than a series of stand-alone projects that rise and fall with fiscal cycles.

The proposed funding envelope is also telling. ZNEC’s total investment cost for the initial programme is stated at US$202 million, financed with 70% debt of US$141.4 million and 30% equity of US$60.6 million. ZCCM-IH’s equity contribution is US$36.36 million and MoFNP’s is US$24.24 million, translating into a 60% shareholding for ZCCM-IH and 40% for MoFNP on behalf of government. In infrastructure finance, that blend is familiar. Debt can lower the overall cost of capital when the revenue stream is predictable, while equity absorbs construction, ramp-up and governance risk. The stress point, as always, is bankability. Lenders will not finance a national roll-out on good intentions. They will look for standardised contracts, credible offtake or payment mechanisms, and risk allocation that places construction risk, currency risk and counterparty risk with parties best positioned to manage them.

This is where Zambia’s real test sits. A constituency-based build is politically attractive and socially inclusive, but operationally complex. Distributed projects multiply procurement events, contractor interfaces, grid integration decisions and maintenance requirements. The execution antidote is a disciplined portfolio model that behaves like a production line. A robust project management office, clear stage gates, standardised designs where viable, pre-qualified supplier panels, and performance dashboards that track cost per MW, delivery timelines, commissioning rates and uptime. The public should ultimately judge the programme on reliability outcomes, not on announcements. The market will judge it on whether the pipeline becomes investable and repeatable.

ZCCM-IH shareholders will also be watching governance closely, because the structure is a related party arrangement. The transaction is classified as a small related party transaction under Lusaka Securities Exchange rules because MoFNP is both a shareholder in ZCCM-IH and an equity investor in the SPV, with ZCCM-IH indicating the consideration of US$36.36 million equates to 2.64% of its market capitalisation using the Bank of Zambia mid-rate referenced in the notice. ZCCM-IH states it must obtain written confirmation from an independent professional expert that the transaction is fair to shareholders, and if it is deemed unfair the company would have to seek shareholder approval and comply with the full requirements of the relevant listing rules. It also obtained a LuSE waiver to defer the fairness opinion while it concludes the procurement of the expert under the Public Procurement Act, with the fairness opinion to be made available within six months. In capital markets, that independent review is not decoration. It is part of the trust infrastructure that protects minority shareholders when development priorities intersect with listed entities.

For policymakers, the Zambia move offers a practical lesson. Investment promotion alone does not build power plants, but it determines how quickly capital can move once projects are ready. Across the region, several countries are building one-stop structures to reduce investor friction. Zimbabwe, through the One Stop Investment Services Centre framework, positions investor facilitation alongside mandates that include public private partnerships and special economic zones, a design meant to coordinate approvals and reduce delays. Namibia’s Investment Promotion and Development Board runs an Investor One Stop Centre aimed at shortening and simplifying administrative procedures by coordinating relevant government offices at a single point of access. Tanzania’s Investment Centre describes its One Stop Facilitation Centre as a place where investors can obtain permits, approvals and licences through stationed officers from multiple government authorities, again a practical de-bottlenecking tool.

Zambia is now adding the next layer, a delivery vehicle designed to turn plans into projects with financing structures attached. South Africa’s experience is instructive here. Its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme has been run as a structured competitive procurement mechanism, and South Africa’s broader infrastructure planning has been anchored by the National Infrastructure Plan 2050, which is framed around building a prioritised portfolio of catalytic projects and strengthening delivery capability. South Africa’s ongoing reform agenda under Operation Vulindlela also places emphasis on removing binding constraints, including energy, with recent progress reporting pointing to steps toward establishing a more independent transmission system operator aligned to legislative requirements, reflecting the central role of grid governance in unlocking private investment at scale.

The thread that links these cases is simple. Investors price certainty, not slogans. Countries that build clear institutional pathways for approvals, procurement, contracting and delivery can convert policy into bankable pipelines. Zambia’s ZNEC structure is a direct attempt to do that in energy, pairing an SPV with a defined national mandate, a stated project governance orientation, and a recognisable financing mix.

For managers and stakeholders in SADC, the key intelligence is not that Zambia wants 312MW. The key intelligence is that Zambia is attempting to industrialise delivery. If ZNEC becomes a disciplined engine with transparent procurement, bankable contracting, credible payment security and rigorous reporting, it can lower the execution risk premium that has historically inflated African infrastructure costs. If it slips into politicised allocation, weak oversight and opaque contracting, it will struggle to attract sustainable capital and will leave citizens with incomplete assets and maintenance backlogs.

The opportunity is real, and so is the accountability test. The market will watch the governance milestones, including the independent fairness opinion within the disclosed six-month window. Communities will watch whether projects translate into reliable power. And the region will watch whether Zambia has found a scalable template for converting national energy ambitions into an investable pipeline.

- Equity Axis News