The African Export-Import Bank and the UN Economic Commission for Africa signed an agreement in mid-April 2023 with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia to help establish special economic zones for the production of electric vehicles (EV) and related services.

The two institutions will help set up an operating company, which will develop the free zones in both the DRC and Zambia. The planned zones will be dedicated to the production of battery precursors, batteries and EVs.

The plan aims to exploit the two African countries’ massive endowment of the natural resources used in batteries and other green technologies. The DRC accounts for about 70% of world cobalt mine production, according to the US geological survey. Collectively, Zambia and the DRC account for 11% of global copper supply.

A pre-feasibility study for the zones will be undertaken by pan-African infrastructure developer Arise IIP.

This article first appeared in the June/July 2023 print edition of fDi Intelligence