Zimbabwe is setting its sights on a significant capital expenditure programme, planning to invest up to US$668 million in crucial electricity generation, transmission, and distribution projects over the next five years. This major commitment to upgrading the nation’s power infrastructure is viewed as a vital catalyst for the successful implementation of the country’s new overarching policy framework, the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2). Launched recently, the NDS2 governs the period until 2030, directly succeeding the previous National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which concluded in 2025. Both strategies form the foundation for achieving the broader national goal of transforming Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income economy by the year 2030.
The ambitious investment target is predicated on the introduction of a new, aggressive framework specifically designed to champion Private Sector Participation (PSP) across the electricity value chain. While the country has seen substantial investment in power generation capacity over the preceding four years, energy analysts have consistently pointed out that this growth was not matched by corresponding investment in the necessary transmission and distribution infrastructure. This imbalance has created bottlenecks, restricting the effective delivery of generated power to end-users and limiting the reliability of the grid.
The new NDS2 policy explicitly mandates the implementation of a comprehensive framework to promote private sector involvement not only in new power generation projects but also in the long-neglected segments of electricity transmission and distribution. The primary mechanism for facilitating this private capital inflow will be through concession arrangements. These concessions will operate under the continuous oversight and regulatory authority of the State-owned Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), ensuring strategic national control over the grid remains intact.
The investment is desperately needed to address the structural issues impacting Zimbabwe’s power system. Despite generation improvements, the electricity network suffers from high technical and commercial losses, largely due to aging infrastructure and inadequate maintenance. According to a 2025 report by the African Development Bank (AfDB), reliable and affordable energy is consistently cited by businesses as one of the single biggest constraints on economic growth, underscoring the necessity of the planned $668 million upgrade.
Beyond attracting private developers to manage sections of the grid, the five-year economic blueprint also outlines plans to capacitate ZESA Enterprises. Concurrently, the government will promote deeper private sector involvement in the domestic manufacturing of essential electricity components. This includes the local production of transformers, cables, concrete poles, and pumping points. This dual strategy aims to reduce reliance on costly imports and boost local industrial capacity, aligning the infrastructure investment with broader industrialisation goals.
The focus on local manufacturing is expected to yield dual benefits. By stimulating the production of transmission and distribution components domestically, Zimbabwe can not only lower procurement costs for ZETDC but also insulate its infrastructure projects from global supply chain volatility, which has been a major hinderance to infrastructure projects across the SADC region, as noted in a recent assessment by SADC.
Ultimately, the commitment of $668 million represents a critical fiscal step towards resolving one of Zimbabwe’s most persistent structural challenges. If successfully implemented through the new PSP framework, the investment promises to secure the necessary infrastructure capacity to support the required pace of industrial expansion, mining growth, and overall infrastructure development targeted under the NDS2, positioning the country more firmly towards its Vision 2030 aspirations.