On June 1, 2026, a thunderous announcement came from Lusaka - Zambia's state-owned mining investment platform ZCCM-IH officially announced that it will join forces with Chinese backed Wonderful Group Services Ltd, led by special purpose company Ever Great Energy, to build a 600MW coal-fired power cluster in Sinazongwe, Southern Province. The first phase will start with 300MW, with a total investment of 451.7 million US dollars.

This is not only a rare large-scale peak shaving coal-fired power return in Zambia in the past decade, but also tears open the reality gap of "reducing hydropower dependence" in southern Africa. When copper mining giants were forced to shut down their production lines by dry season depleted reservoirs, this locally coal-fired base load power station became a key to revitalizing mining, smelting, and building materials production capacity, and also threw a high ticket to Chinese engineering general contractors, auxiliary equipment, and post operation and maintenance service providers.

State owned Assets Set Up Stage, Chinese Enterprises Sing Opera

The equity structure of the project is clear: ZCCM-IH invested 54.2 million US dollars to acquire 30% of Ever Great's shares, with Chinese holding platform Wonderful Group responsible for overall promotion. The proposed EPC general contractor is Ziquan Group Singapore Pte Limited, a Singaporean platform under Ziquan Energy.

Unlike simply exporting equipment, Wonderful Group has been deeply involved in fertilizers, ceramic tiles, and PVC building materials in Zambia for many years, possessing local political and business networks and skilled resources. This sandwich structure of "African state-owned assets holding shares+Chinese industrial group operation+EPC platform general contracting" not only shares political risks, but also ensures the construction of Chinese discourse power and equipment procurement orientation. It is a typical advanced version of capacity cooperation model.

The thirst for copper mines breeds urgent needs

83% of Zambia's installed capacity relies on hydropower. In 2024, the severe drought caused a sharp drop in actual available electricity to 1019MW, with a base load gap of over 1400MW. To achieve the 2031 target of 3 million tons of copper production from 890000 tons, smelters, beneficiation plants, and supporting lime cement lines must first solve the problem of continuous power supply.

This coal-fired power project is equipped with circulating fluidized bed boilers, desulfurization and dust removal, and water treatment. The electricity is planned to be connected to Muzuma substation in Choma, and it is expected to be added to the State Grid in addition to serving its own mining area. The 8150 hectare exploration rights coal mine, developed synchronously with the project, provides a fuel loop for the power plant, weakens the impact of imported coal exchange rate fluctuations, and directly drives the output of coal transportation systems, ash removal, water treatment, and booster station equipment for Chinese enterprises along the supply chain.

The threshold lies in payment collection and compliance

Opportunities are tempting but not smooth sailing. Coal power is facing pressure from international climate financing reviews, and the project still requires approval from the competition commission, a complete power purchase agreement (PPA), water resource access permits, and community resettlement closure. Keywords: New energy news and information, coal-fired power generation

Chinese enterprises should lock in three points when entering the market: closely monitor the closure of financing and the resumption of production and shipment after the first phase of construction order; Prioritize obtaining auxiliary equipment subcontracting and long-term operation and maintenance through the general contractor Ziquan Energy or Wonderful Group on Zan Industrial Network, rather than promoting individual machines in a scattered manner; Nuclear clear coal mining rights, environmental impact assessment approval, and domestic/foreign currency electricity price settlement mechanism to prevent currency mismatches in the Egyptian pound. Before the electricity is connected to the grid, existing factories in Zambia should still schedule production according to the power shortage plan - this business is far fetched and cannot solve the current shortage of production.Editor/Gao Xue