Provincial investment expositions are proving to be a hit, with Samfya district, Luapula Province, running out of land on lake shores as a result of overwhelming response from investors. Luapula Province held the first-ever such investment expo in July last year, which has triggered a scramble for prime land by local and foreign investors, according to local officials.

Central and Northern provinces are also preparing to hold their expos before the end of this year. Samfya council chairperson Francis Musunga says the local authority has run out of land for investment on the shores of Lake Bangweulu, which is being highly sought by investors flocking to the district.

Samfya is one of the districts in the province which hosted the Luapula Tourism and Investment Expo last year, and has since attracted a number of local and foreign investors. Mr Musunga said in an interview yesterday that most of the investors that are coming to the district want to invest on land which is on the shores of Lake Bangweulu, but it is all taken up.He said ever since the hosting of the expo, a number of foreign and local investors have  been visiting Samfya with the aim to invest in the tourism and agriculture sectors.

“We have witnessed a number of investors coming to our district. Unfortunately, they want to invest on land which is on the shores of Lake Bangweulu, which has now become scarce,” he said. Mr Musunga said the local authority has secured land off the shores of Lake Bangweulu and is encouraging investors to explore it. He said the local authority is also working with traditional leaders in the district to try and secure more land for investment.

Mr Musunga also expressed happiness that power supply to the district has improved due to the newly built Musonda hydro-power station at one of the water bodies in the area. He said Samfya used to experience power outages but that this is no longer the case because of the hydropower project which is now in place.

In line with the Seventh National Development Plan, Government envisages to diversify the tourism sector by focusing on expanding the industry beyond the traditional sites.