InfraPITCH: Luapula Hydropower Project

Executive Summary

Case Study 

Luapula Hydropower Project 

Project Overview

The Luapula Hydropower Project, is a 789 MW cross-border hydropower development on the Luapula River, spanning the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

The project was designed to address severe energy deficits constraining economic growth in both countries, including over 12 hours of daily load shedding in Zambia and an electrification rate of just 19% in the DRC. The project would deliver clean energy to mining operations, regional utilities, and the South African Power Pool. The capital structure comprised $504 million in equity and $1.176 billion in senior debt, at a total CapEx of $1.68 billion. Off-take would be secured through 20-25 year PPAs with ZESCO and SNEL (80% capacity) and the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (20%), with surplus capacity sold on the SAPP spot market.

The project’s financial model projected a 12.54% project IRR, a 37.09% return on equity, and a DSCR of 2.98 – well above the 1.5x typically required by DFI lenders. The $3 million seed equity request would fund hydrological and climate assessments, feasibility and preliminary engineering, environmental and social impact assessments, legal structuring, and financial advisory.

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