The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has signed an agreement with Anzana Electric Group Limited to fund a feasibility study focused on electricity infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

The assessment will cover the rehabilitation of existing hydropower facilities, the development of additional hydropower generation and the expansion of electricity-distribution systems in Lualaba Province in the DRC and North-Western Province in Zambia.

The proposed work is intended to improve electricity reliability for copper and cobalt mining operations as well as more than three million residents in the two-country region. It is also expected to support communities and businesses along the Lobito Corridor, a strategic route linking mineral-producing areas in Central and Southern Africa with overseas markets through Angola’s Port of Lobito.

Potential connections for homes and businesses

According to the project announcement, the initiative could bring new electricity connections to more than half a million homes and businesses. It is also intended to help mining companies along the corridor reduce their dependence on diesel-powered generation.

The feasibility study will assess potential U.S. sources of supply and help structure the proposed infrastructure work to attract financing. The USTDA said its funded programmes are carried out by U.S. companies, although no companies for this particular study have been identified.

The agency said a request for proposals for the study will be posted at www.ustda.gov/work/bid-on-an-overseas-project.

Link to wider corridor development

USTDA described the study as supporting the objectives of the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by the United States and the DRC governments in December 2025. The agency said the assistance to Anzana also complements other support for the Lobito Corridor in areas including power generation, digital connectivity, port modernisation and critical-minerals extraction and processing.

Reliable electricity remains a challenge in the DRC and Zambia, where the source says mining activity consumes most available power, leaving households and local businesses underserved.

“Reliable power allows mines to operate, businesses to profit, and families to thrive,” said Thomas R. Hardy, USTDA’s deputy director. He added that the work would strengthen mineral supply chains important to the U.S. economy and security while supporting power systems needed by partners in the DRC and Zambia.

Brian Kelly, chief executive of Anzana Electric Group, said reliable electricity was necessary for industrialisation, local value addition, job creation and stronger economies in countries along the Lobito Corridor.

Anzana is described as a developer, investor and operator of hydropower and electricity-distribution projects across East, Central and Southern Africa. The company is backed by private American investors and Gridworks Development Partners, an Africa-focused electricity transmission and distribution investor wholly owned by British International Investment.

The agreement provides for a feasibility study, but no funding amount, construction schedule, implementation date or completion date has been announced.