Transmission Line Kafue-Livingstone - IRS

The project consists of the upgrading of the existing 341 km Kafue–Muzuma–Livingstone transmission line from 220 to 330 kilovolts, including the upgrading of the two substations related to this line, and the construction of one new substation. The line interconnects the Victoria Falls hydro power station in the south-eastern part of the country to the load and production centres situated in the centre of Zambia. It forms part of a new regional north-south connection that interconnects the Zambian and Namibian networks, bypassing the congested, unreliable network of Zimbabwe. The total project cost is estimated at USD 100m and will be financed by the EIB, the World Bank and by the project Promoter, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation and ZESCO. In 2018, the promoter informed that all the project components have been commissioned. The Project's implementation is satisfactory. The delays observed so far are not very severe. Procurement and implementation of the works for the reinforcement of the distribution network in Livingstone remains outstanding.

The EU-AITF interest rate subsidy of up to EUR 5.2m subsidises EIB’s loan to the Republic of Zambia, which on-lends the funds to ZESCO. EIB’s loan supports the Zambian Government’s goal to ensure that a reliable supply of energy keeps pace with the anticipated growth of the economy in the country and the region. EIB also plays an important strategic role in defining the Lenders’ requirements for the organisation of the project implementation. EIB’s conditionality clauses, e.g. to address specific environmental concerns, contributes towards putting in place a framework that ensures good practice in the implementation of the project. The IRS is used simultaneously with EIB’s loan disbursements which started in Q1 2015.