Zambia commissions 50MW Mansa solar plant, its first big power project in Luapula in 60 years

Zambia's state utility ZESCO has commissioned the 50MW Mansa Solar Plant in Chief Mabumba's area of Luapula Province, a $48 million project built by China Machinery Company that officials describe as the first major power generation investment in the province in more than 60 years. Construction ran from February to December 2025, and pre-commissioning tests saw the plant inject about 14MW into the grid — comfortably above Mansa's local peak demand of 9MW — enough to end daytime load shedding in Mansa and partially ease it in nearby Kasama.

President Hakainde Hichilema said the project fits into Zambia's plan to lift installed national electricity capacity to 10,000MW by 2030, while Energy Minister Makozo Chikote said such investments help "reduce power shortages and improve grid stability." ZESCO managing director Justin Loongo said the plant would "strengthen the utility's operations and improve service delivery" in a province that has historically been at the end of Zambia's power distribution network.

A boost for local manganese mining

Luapula Province hosts a growing manganese mining sector that has struggled with unreliable power supply, given its distance from Zambia's main generation and transmission infrastructure on the Copperbelt and around Kariba. More stable local power from the Mansa plant directly supports these manganese operations, which have increasingly contributed to Zambia's export earnings as global demand for manganese — used in steelmaking and battery cathodes — has grown.

One of many pieces in Zambia's solar push

Mansa is part of a wider Zambian effort to add roughly 1,000MW of solar generation, alongside other projects such as the Riverside and Chisamba solar plants, as the country diversifies away from its traditional reliance on Kariba and Kafue hydropower. For a province that had gone decades without a significant new power investment, the Mansa plant is a small but symbolically significant step — proof that Zambia's broader power build-out is reaching beyond the Copperbelt and the capital to more remote mining regions as well. Local officials in Mansa say the plant has already changed how residents and small businesses plan their day, since activities that once had to work around scheduled outages can now run through the afternoon without interruption.

Sources

• SolarQuarter: Zambia Commissions 50 MW Mansa Solar Plant To Boost Energy Supply And Economic Growth, 27 Apr 2026