The Luapula Province administration is appealing to the Ministry of Energy to consider expediting processes for electricity upgrades in Luapula Province.
Minister in Charge Mr. Nixon Chilangwa has told Energy Minister Mathew Nkhuwa who called on him yesterday that lack of industrial energy is a huge setback for the development of Luapula Province.
Mr. Chilangwa has observed that due to insufficient power, mining companies cannot set up processing plants to add value to the abundant and high – grade Manganese only mined in Luapula Province.
In a statement issued to Money FM by the provincial administration, the Minister says the Luapula province is not benefiting from its endowment of manganese because of lack of electricity that meets the demands of mining industries.
And Mr. Nkhuwa has promised to look into the issue of industrial energy in Luapula Province.
Luapula Province is one of Zambia’s ten provinces located in the northern part of the country. Luapula Province is named after the Luapula River and its capital is Mansa.
As per the 2010 Zambian census, the Province had a population of 991,927, which accounted for 7.57 per cent of the total Zambian population.
The province has international border along Democratic Republic of the Congo (and domestically extends along the northern and eastern banks of the Luapula river from Lake Bangweulu to Lake Mweru.