NEWS

The Strategic Investment Fund of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("FIS-RDC"), Enterprise Power DRC SARL ("EnPower"), Trafigura and Gridworks Development Partners (together, "the Parties") have signed a Strategic Framework Agreement to jointly finance, build and operate a 200km high-voltage power line connecting Kalumbila, Zambia, with Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The Kalumbila–Kolwezi Interconnector Project ("KKIP") will strengthen the DRC's connection to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), the regional body that links national grids and allows countries to trade power across borders. The project has reached the final stage of development, with all necessary concessions, licences and authorisations secured. It has an estimated construction cost of USD300 million.

KKIP will deliver benefits on both sides of the border: a new source of reliable, affordable power for the DRC's mining and industrial sectors, and new export capacity and transmission opportunities for Zambian power producers. The line will have a thermal capacity of 700MW, enabling up to 550MW of competitively priced electricity to be imported into the Copperbelt mining region of the DRC. The line design allows for a future capacity increase to over 1GW.

FIS-RDC, EnPower and Gridworks have confirmed their intention to invest equity in KKIP, with Gridworks as lead equity investor and majority shareholder. The Parties are in discussions with Zambian entities about taking a stake in the project. EnPower is the project developer, a licensed Congolese power trader and a SAPP member. Gridworks is a specialist transmission and distribution developer owned and funded by British International Investment, the UK Government’s development finance institution. Trafigura, a market leader in the global commodities industry, has agreed to arrange a significant share of the project's debt financing.

For FIS-RDC, the transaction supports the DRC Government's objective of investing in strategic infrastructure with wider economic benefits. It is the first investment announced by FIS-RDC since its creation in October 2025.