Tanzania's industrial conglomerate Amsons Group has made Zambia the latest target of its ambitious regional expansion drive, entering into a $900 million partnership with Lusaka-based Exergy Africa Ltd to develop up to 1,300MW power projects in the country.

The new deal signed in Lusaka on December 10, comes a year since Amsons completed a $180 million majority acquisition of Kenya's Bamburi Cement and a month after it secured a 29.2 percent stake in East Africa Portland Cement (EAPC) for $5.6 million, cementing its growing status as a major player in the regional cement market.

Amsons Group also operates in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, its full business portfolio covering oil and fuel distribution and transportation, concrete manufacturing, flour milling, logistics, packaging, construction, real estate and electronics assembly.

Its latest agreement with Exergy Africa will involve jointly developing and expanding power generation and energy infrastructure projects in Zambia to generate an extra 1,000MW of solar power and 300MW of coal power.

They said it would leverage Amsons Group’s established regional infrastructure platform to create a "bankable" pipeline of power projects aligned with Zambia’s future energy demand via a "combined" investment of $900 million.

Amsons Group CEO Edha Nahdi said the company viewed Zambia as a "strategic growth market," while Exergy Africa director Monica Musonda said the partnership was a "reflection of the growing momentum toward African-led regional energy integration where local industrial champions and international developers work together to close infrastructure gaps and strengthen power reliability."

"By partnering with a group that already operates at scale across multiple African markets, we have paced ourselves to move faster, reduce project risk, and deliver reliable power where it is needed most,” Ms Musonda said.

Details of the planned investments and roles for each of the partners within the agreement were not immediately disclosed, but they projected handsome mutual financial returns alongside infrastructure development and increased power supply.

Amsons Group's energy platform includes 60 million litres of petroleum storage capacity at the port of Dar es Salaam, extensive bulk fuel trading across southern Africa, and a private logistics fleet of more than 800 oil and fuel trucks.

Initial bidThe family-run conglomerate's buyout of Bamburi Cement in December 2024 allowed it to make the Kenyan company a flagship brand within its core cement and building materials business segment, which includes a majority stake in Mbeya Cement, one of Tanzania's major cement producing firms.

The initial bid of $180 million was endorsed in mid-2024 and the deal was wrapped up in late 2024 after regulatory approval from the Comesa Competition Commission, giving Amsons a 96.5 percent controlling stake in Bamburi Cement.

And on November 13, Amsons Group further expanded its reach into Kenya's cement market by securing a 29.2 percent stake in the Nairobi Stock Exchange-listed EAPC for $5.6 million through subsidiary company Kalahari Cement.

Industry watchers say the move underscored the Tanzanian enterprise's intentions to challenge Nigeria-owned Dangote Cement's dominance of East Africa's cement market, although it drew scrutiny from industry players in Kenya over potential undervaluation of the EAPC shares at the time of the transaction.

In Tanzania, Amsons' interests in the domestic cement industry are mainly invested in its 65 percent majority ownership of Mbeya Cement, which it acquired in late 2023.

It has announced plans to invest up to $320 million towards upgrading the company's facilities to raise production capacity to 5,000tpd, similar to the Bamburi plan, and build a new grinding mill for the company in faraway Tanga region.

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