The Zambia African National Congress

MANUFACTURING & ENERGY

MANUFACTURING

There are inadequate developments in mineral and petroleum extraction and processing industries, such as refining and smelting. Zambia needs to develop heavy industry, such as metal producing, machine making, and transportation manufacturing. Though mineral-related industries are well developed in Zambia, we need to develop primarily in textiles, light industry, and building materials. Throughout much of the rest of the country, manufacturing is limited to making or assembling consumer goods, such as shoes, bicycles, textiles, food, and beverages. Such industries are often confined by the relatively small size of the consumer market (from Encarta).

Way forward

Increase the production and improve the competitiveness and diversification of the domestic private sector, government sector, especially in the agro-industrial, mining, and manufacturing sub sectors with potential exports and employment creation

Establish an accreditation infrastructure vis-à-vis Zambia National Bureau of Standards

Regulate the technical frameworks at national level

ENERGY

Zambia is close to Angola one of the major world producers of petroleum. has Coal and many more concentrate in neighbouring Zimbabwe and South Africa; Although has huge hydropower potential, only a relatively small portion has been developed due to high construction costs, inaccessibility of sites, and their distance from markets.

Energy is an important input cost for Zambia’s major industries. Continued access to reliable and competitively priced energy is essential to support existing and future industries and Zambia’s economic prosperity. Reliability and quality of energy supply is equally important to Zambia’s small to medium sized businesses. For many such businesses, outages impact directly upon business competitiveness and negatively on productivity.

The risk of Zambia’s hydroelectric system nearing the limit of its capacity requires a comprehensive and decisive response. Energy reform needed to create an environment for economic development and investment through the provision of secure, diverse and competitively priced energy. This reform will result in development of the government’s multimillion-dollar Energy Plan through the delivery of ZamPower Project, the ’s Natural Gas Project and development of ’s wind resource.

ZamPower Project

ZamPower Project will build, own and operate a three-digit MW link between Kariba Dam, Kafue Gorge and the rest of the country, which will connect Zambia into the National Electricity Market (NEM). The completion of the project will increase energy capacity by enabling electricity to be traded with other countries with sufficient energy for the country. This will provide opportunities to export and trade renewable energy in the NEM.

The benefits of the project include:

Improving security of supply and enhancing competition in generating and retailing
Cost-effective electricity that will benefit n industry
A cost-effective means of mitigating both the physical and financial aspects of hydrological risk and the risk from the state’s finite electricity customer base
Providing an additional source of cost-effective electricity to meet peak demand in the Copperbelt, North-western Province and Lusaka.
Removing a barrier to growth in n energy production, particularly from the development of Zambia’s world-class clean and renewable wind resource.

Natural gas

A key component of the government’s Energy Plan will be the establishment of the Zambian Natural Gas Project (ZNGP). This will allow Zambia to become part of the integrated national market. The ZNGP involves:

The supply of natural gas to the state via the construction of another pipeline between Zambia and Angola.
The distribution and retailing of natural gas to commercial, industrial and residential customers.

The transmission pipeline shall be delivering a new and competitive energy source to Zambia. This will be the first stage of ZamPower’s distribution network connecting a number of industrial, commercial and domestic customers.

Wind energy

Zambia has a world-class wind resource. The value and potential for the development of this form of renewable energy may be enhanced with the capacity to export energy interstate ZamPower. The combination of wind projects and ZamPower will enable Zambia to make a greater contribution to reduce global warming by reducing Zambia’s dependence on fossil fuels. The government shall continue to maximise the spin-off opportunities for n manufacturers and other businesses from wind power and energy related projects.

These measures, in addition to the economic benefits they will bring, will increase energy capacity, in particular increasing the existing electricity infrastructure’s ability to accommodate future growth within the state.

Opportunities: The wind energy projects will bring a number of opportunities for the local manufacture of turbine components. Growth in economic and employment activity in regional areas will be evident. Flow ons in tower manufacture will also benefit local companies such as construction and metal companies. Other local businesses, including hi-tech manufacturers, will also benefit and employ new staff.

The ZANC Government’s White Paper on Energy will significantly be biased on the improvement and strengthening of renewable energy. The ZANC Government plans to invest heavily in research into technology applicable to emissions and intensive forms of generation such as coal.

The ZANC Government will continue to make representations to the Zambian people on the importance of a regulatory system and incentives that encourage the development of clean renewable energy.

The potential for the development of the synergies between wind generation and emerging hydrogen technologies will help to consolidate Zambia’s position as a global leader in green energy. ZamPower Project will be collaborating with the University of Zambia to develop a Renewable Hydrogen Research Program that aims to establish Zambia as Africa’s leader in the development of renewable hydrogen applications.

Way forward

Embark on rural regrouping and resettlement scheme. Zambia has highly scattered rural population which makes it hard and costly to electrify. This will in turn improve the reliability and lower the cost of energy supply to productive activities thus enable substantial economic growth. The current uncontrolled settlement of 10s 0r 100s of people in villages across hundreds or thousands of square kilometres poses a great social amenities, economic and capital management problem.

Immediate development of the vast hydroelectric power plants across the country. As we go ahead in the 21st century we cannot go on having a vast majority of our people living in the dark. There must be a vast exploitation and development of the hydroelectric potential of the river basins of Zambia.

The construction and integration of transmission grids and gas pipelines across the country linking all major industrial areas so as to facilitate energy flows. Build a Zambia – Angola oil pipeline.