On 1 October 2026, Globeleq announced financial close for Kafue Solar, a 40 MWac project near Kafue Town in Zambia, with $52.1 million in committed financing from British International Investment and FMO (Globeleq). The original award to Globeleq and Aurora Power Solutions, part of SOLA Group, was announced in April 2019 (original award).

Roughly seven and a half years separate those announcements. That is not a construction duration. It is a reason to examine the work between identifying a power requirement and assembling a project that can be financed.

For me, Kafue raises a useful question: before anyone builds the plant, who builds the project?

Zambia’s GET FiT programme implemented the government’s renewable-energy strategy through a partnership between its Department of Energy and KfW, supported by a secretariat staffed by Multiconsult (GET FiT award record). The solar competition awarded six projects totalling 120 MWac in April 2019, including the two 20 MWac projects won by Globeleq and Aurora (GET FiT).

This was not simply a tender for a contractor to build a government-owned plant. Developers were responsible for their own site selection, feasibility studies and financing, including debt and equity (GET FiT’s 2022 annual update).

The distinction matters. Government created a route for private projects to compete; bidders still had to assemble specific projects capable of using that route.

Projects had to reach at least pre-feasibility stage before submission, with conceptual design, site-specific energy-yield estimates, environmental and social preparation, a financial model and financing-support documentation (University of Cape Town’s procurement study). Land title was not universally required at bidding: conditional arrangements could support a proposal, and full environmental approval was not yet required (UCT study).

That is an important boundary. Bidders were not expected to finish every development task before competing, but they needed more than an attractive idea and a low electricity price.

The competition received 15 project proposals and awarded six; environmental and social deficiencies were a principal reason some proposals failed the minimum technical criteria (GET FiT award record). My reading is that early engineering, site work and commercial preparation were part of the investment at risk, not administrative details to resolve after winning.

There was development support, too. Globeleq’s 2019 announcement says the UN Environment Seed Capital Assistance Facility supported SOLA’s work on the Zambia projects and would continue toward financial close, without disclosing the amount (Globeleq).

That does not establish the consortium’s total development budget. It does show why “private development” should not automatically be read as “every early cost funded without support.”

The programme’s 2022 report provides part of the backstory: macroeconomic conditions and ZESCO’s financial sustainability challenges led financiers to suspend funding activities in Zambia’s energy sector, while developers extended bid validity (GET FiT annual update, pages 12 and 21). This is programme-level evidence, not a complete explanation of Kafue’s individual development history.

Later milestones are clearer. Globeleq reports that Kafue’s power purchase, grid connection and government implementation agreements were signed in August 2025, followed by the main financing agreements in December; its March 2026 update still described financial close as forthcoming (Globeleq’s March update).

The sequence is instructive: award, project agreements, financing agreements and financial close are separate milestones. I would want a development plan to identify the evidence needed to pass each one, rather than treating “awarded” as shorthand for “ready to build.”

Kafue Solar: from procurement opportunity to operating delivery. Development stages overlap; financial close is not evidence of electricity already being delivered.

Graphic sources: [1] GET FiT award record; [2] UCT procurement study; [3] Globeleq: project agreements; [4] Globeleq: financial close.

The closing announcement identifies $24.5 million committed by BII and $27.6 million by FMO, with Standard Bank South Africa as security trustee and Globeleq as sole owner (Globeleq). FMO identifies the borrower as Globeleq Kafue Solar Limited, the dedicated project company (FMO).

Those roles are different. The disclosed $52.1 million is committed project financing, not a statement of total construction cost or cash already spent.

The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation also provides a grant facility for part of the grid connection and certain upgrades at ZESCO’s Kafue Town Substation (Globeleq). That detail deserves attention: the financing story extends beyond the generating plant to the infrastructure needed to deliver its electricity.

Solarcentury Africa, initially appointed technical development partner, is now EPC contractor in consortium with Alensy Energy Solutions Zambia; Globeleq will manage construction, asset management and operations and maintenance (Globeleq).

From the owner’s side, I would test three things: what releases major spending commitments, who owns the interfaces between plant and grid works, and what evidence establishes readiness to export electricity. These are diligence questions, not allegations of gaps in Kafue’s arrangements.

Kafue will sell electricity to ZESCO under a 25-year power purchase agreement (Globeleq). I would judge its contribution through energy actually delivered and sustained operating performance, rather than treating announced capacity as a benefit already realised.

Kafue’s story reminds me to look beyond the visible construction phase. The award identifies a project to pursue. Financial close is a different achievement. The operating record will determine what that achievement is worth.

Passionate about African infrastructure. We will build — sooner or later. — Magnus

Africa Infrastructure Brief is a weekly Sunday newsletter on African infrastructure projects, deals and delivery. Written by Magnus, an owner-side infrastructure project management consultant with 20 years of experience across energy, marine and industrial projects in Africa and North America. Subscribe to Africa Infrastructure Brief.