The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has announced its first investment through the Strategic Investment Fund of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FIS-RDC), which will finance the Kalumbila-Kolwezi Interconnector Project (KKIP), a 300-million-dollar electrical line. On October 6, 2026, the FIS-RDC signed a strategic framework agreement with Enterprise Power DRC (EnPower), Trafigura, and Gridworks Development Partners to co-finance, build, and operate the infrastructure. This project aims to strengthen the electricity supply in the Congolese Copperbelt mining region, which spans the Haut-Katanga and Lualaba provinces. The project will combine both equity and debt financing, with EnPower, Gridworks, and the FIS-RDC confirming their intent to invest in equity. However, the exact amounts each party will contribute have not yet been revealed. Discussions are also underway with Zambian entities about potential co-investment. EnPower is a licensed electricity trader in the DRC and a member of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), a regional organization that facilitates electricity exchanges between countries in Southern Africa. It is the developer of the KKIP. Gridworks Development Partners, which specializes in electricity transmission and distribution, is expected to become the main equity investor and majority shareholder of the project. Gridworks is owned by British International Investment, a British development financing institution. Trafigura, a global trading company that deals in raw materials, will be responsible for organizing a significant portion of the debt required to finance the infrastructure. However, the statement does not yet specify the expected contributions from each party or the timeline for finalizing the financial arrangements. For the FIS-RDC, this project marks its first initiative to show how sovereign capital can attract private financing for strategic infrastructure. According to the fund’s general director, Émile Osumba, the KKIP could support industrial growth, create qualified jobs, and increase tax revenues in the DRC. The project involves building a 200-kilometer high-voltage electrical line connecting Kalumbila in Zambia to Kolwezi in the Lualaba province. It is also expected to strengthen the DRC’s connection to the SAPP, the regional electricity network that allows countries in Southern Africa to exchange power. The KKIP has reached the final stage of development, with all necessary legal and regulatory approvals secured. The line will have a thermal capacity of 700 megawatts (MW) and will allow the import of up to 550 MW of electricity at competitive prices to the Congolese Copperbelt. The design also allows for future expansion to more than 1,000 MW. This infrastructure is expected to help address the DRC’s electricity deficit, which is estimated to be over 1 GW. It will also provide a new electricity source for the mining and industrial sectors, potentially unlocking stalled mining and refining projects that rely on low-cost electricity. From Zambia’s perspective, the project could open new markets for electricity producers by connecting them to the DRC’s demand. Discussions are already taking place with Zambian institutions about co-investing in the project. The KKIP is not a new initiative; in May 2025, EnPower signed a supply contract with ZESCO, Zambia’s national electricity company, for 350 MW and obtained an import permit for electricity in the DRC. At that time, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was the main financial backer, with the project estimated at 250 million dollars.