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The Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) has reported a total investment of US$563 million from 125 projects.
ZEMA Director-General, Engineer Godfrey Mwiinga, revealed that mining and mineral processing led with 64 projects, followed by infrastructure development with 22 projects and the energy sector with 21 projects.
In terms of investment value, the manufacturing and processing sector topped the list with US$347 million from 16 projects.
The Energy sector followed with US$147 million, while mining and mineral processing secured US$38 million.
Addressing the current energy crisis in a statement issued in Lusaka on Monday, Mwiinga noted that ZEMA approved four solar power projects with a combined capacity of 100 MW and two power transmission and distribution lines by ZESCO Limited.
From January to August 2024, ZEMA processed 816 projects with 808 approvals and eight rejections, a significant increase from 642 projects with 623 approvals and 19 rejections during the same period in 2023.
Read More: ZEMA approves 20 climate change-related projects in six months
The total investment cost of approved projects surged to US$4.25 billion in 2024, up from US$2.5 billion in 2023.
Mwiinga attributed the rise in environmental assessments to growing demand for environmental services.
He urged developers to practice self-regulation through self-compliance monitoring and environmental audits and encouraged the public to report any environmental violations to ZEMA.
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