Material and labour prices

Market ranges, in US dollars and local currency.

ZambiaBuilding in Lusaka1 USD = 20 K (Live exchange rate)Data updated August 30, 2026

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Item	Unit	USD	K	Confidence
Initial verification, per circuit (IEC 60364-6)Continuity of the protective conductor, insulation resistance, earth loop impedance and RCD trip time, measured circuit by circuit and written up. IEC 60364-6 requires this before an installation is energised, and no schedule in these markets prices it, because it is usually not done. Estimated from an electrician’s day rate against the number of circuits one person tests in a day. The bill bought the board and the earth electrode and verified neither, which is the same shape as a missing line anywhere else in this product: it looks exactly like a test that costs nothing. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per circuit	$10 – $29	194 K – 582 K	Estimated
Isolation valve, per fixtureA quarter-turn brass ball valve and its connection, one at each fixture and one on the incoming main. Estimated from merchant prices for 15 and 20 mm valves; no published schedule separates them from the fixture. Without them an installation has no way to isolate a branch, so changing a tap means shutting the whole house off: and in practice means the tap is not changed. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per valve	$7 – $21	143 K – 429 K	Estimated
Wall copingA weathered cap over the top of a wall, cast in place or precast, throwing water clear of both faces. Estimated from the concrete, the formwork and the mason’s time for a 300 mm cap rather than from a published rate, because coping is normally swallowed inside a per-metre wall price. An uncapped wall takes rain straight into its top course, and the first failure of a boundary wall here is almost always the top three courses rather than the foundation. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$7 – $19	143 K – 382 K	Estimated
Damp-proof courseBitumen felt or polythene laid in the bed joint above ground level, breaking the path water takes up through the masonry. Estimated from roll prices at the width a 150 to 200 mm wall needs. Rising damp is what makes the bottom of a rendered wall blister and shed within two or three wet seasons, and the cure after the fact is to take the render off and start again. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$1 – $4	29 K – 84 K	Estimated
Gate lock and drop boltA lock and a drop bolt into the threshold, which is what secures a gate rather than what hangs it. Deliberately not hinges or paint : the gate leaf here is priced through the boundary’s own material with a fabrication factor whose written basis already names the frame, the hinges and the paint, so buying them again would charge the same money twice. That is the mistake `knownCosts` exists to avoid, and it is easier to make when adding a line than when removing one. Estimated from merchant prices for a padlockable gate lock and a galvanised drop bolt. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per set	$71 – $240	1,432 K – 4,772 K	Estimated
Formwork, per m² of contact areaSheet, bearers, nails, props and release oil, measured the way a bordereau measures it, per square metre of concrete face formed, with the sheet amortised over about four uses. Nothing in this product priced formwork at all, and no concrete rate here claims to include it, so every reinforced element was quietly assumed to cast itself. It is not a small line: on a boundary wall with posts and two tie beams the formed area is roughly twice the wall’s own footprint. Estimated from plywood and melamine sheet prices in this market against a four-use life; a merchant quotation would replace the sheet share directly. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per m² formed	$10 – $26	194 K – 534 K	Estimated
Binding wire (for tying reinforcement)Annealed wire for tying bars and links into a cage. Ordered at 12 kg per tonne of reinforcement, which is the middle of the 10 to 15 kg range trades work to. Estimated from merchant prices for annealed wire by the coil. It is a trivial cost and a total stopper: a cage cannot be tied without it, and it was missing from every bill this product has ever produced. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per kg	$4 – $8	73 K – 170 K	Estimated
Weep hole (75 mm PVC sleeve through the wall)A short PVC sleeve cast or built through the wall just above ground on the exposed face, with the mason’s time to place it. Estimated from offcut pipe prices and a few minutes’ work each; no schedule prices a weep hole, because it is the first thing left out. Leaving them out is not a saving of this size : an undrained wall carries roughly 1.75 times the push of a drained one, because saturated backfill adds full hydrostatic pressure that no friction angle reduces. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per weep hole	$5 – $17	97 K – 340 K	Estimated
Filter fabric (behind the wall)A non-woven geotextile wrapping the granular drainage blanket so the fines in the retained soil do not migrate into it. Estimated from roll prices for a light non-woven grade. Without it the drain silts up and becomes more soil within a season or two, which is worse than never building it: the wall is then loaded as an undrained wall by a detail everybody believes is working. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per m²	$3 – $8	58 K – 170 K	Estimated
Concrete curing (sheeting and water, 7 days)Polythene sheeting at 200 microns used twice over, the water to keep the surface wet for seven days, and the labour of wetting it. An outright estimate: no schedule in these markets prices curing separately, because it is almost always buried in a concrete rate and therefore almost always skipped on site. It is priced here for the opposite reason, in this climate a slab above about 32 °C loses water faster than bleed replaces it, and concrete that dries before it hydrates never reaches its grade whatever the mix design said. A well-batched concrete badly cured is weaker than a badly batched one cured properly, so this is the cheapest line in the bill measured against what it protects. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per m² of surface	$1 – $4	29 K – 78 K	Estimated
Movement joint (backer rod and sealant)Compressible filler and a gun-applied sealant, per metre of joint height. Nothing in these packs is comparable enough to scale from, a joint is a backer rod and a cartridge, not a coating sold by the square metre, so this is an outright estimate from what a hardware merchant charges for polyurethane sealant and closed-cell filler at the coverage a 15 mm joint uses. It is a small line against the wall it protects: a 140 m run needs about 55 m of joint, and leaving it out is why a new boundary wall cracks in its first dry season. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per metre	$7 – $19	146 K – 388 K	Estimated
Consumer unit, per way (three phase)A three-phase way: the same protective device on a busbar fed from three lines rather than one, so the board, the main switch and the incoming device all cost more for the same number of circuits. Priced from this market’s own single-phase way at the premium wholesalers quote for the three-phase range. No regional survey separates them. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per way	$18 – $60	358 K – 1,217 K	Estimated
Supply cable (3 × 10 mm²)Single-phase supply, three cores: line, neutral and earth against the four of a three-phase run. Priced from this market’s own four-core cable at the ratio of the copper in it, which is what a merchant charges for cable, the drum is sold by weight of conductor. No regional survey separates the two sizes. This is what an ordinary house here is connected with; three-phase is for a workshop, a borehole pump of any size, or a house large enough to need the load balanced. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$3 – $10	69 K – 204 K	Estimated
Copper supply pipe (ø 22)Copper, soldered. Rare here and dear: it is imported, it needs a plumber with a torch, and the offcuts walk off a site. It is specified where hot water runs through a roof void or where a client wants a system that outlives the building. Priced at the multiple of PPR that importers quote for tube of the same bore; no regional survey covers it, and in most of these markets a merchant will order it in rather than stock it. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$7 – $24	134 K – 493 K	Estimated
Pressure PVC supply pipe (ø 25)Pressure PVC, the cheaper supply pipe and the one most self-builds here use for cold runs. It is solvent-welded rather than fusion-welded, so it needs no heating iron and any mason can lay it : which is why it is common : and it must not carry hot water or run in sunlight, where it goes brittle. Priced from this market’s own PPR at the discount merchants quote; no regional survey separates supply pipe by material. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$1 – $4	24 K – 81 K	Estimated
Stair nosing (aluminium or PVC)A pre-formed aluminium or PVC stair nosing, sold by the metre and fixed to the front edge of each tread. It takes the wear and stops the arris of a cast step breaking away, which is what makes an unnosed concrete stair look derelict in two years. No regional survey prices it; the band is scaled from this market’s own skirting, which is the same kind of extruded trim bought the same way. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per metre	$8 – $29	155 K – 582 K	Estimated
Exterior paint (20 L drum)Exterior acrylic, sold in the same 20 L drum as the interior grade. It carries more binder and a UV package because this face takes full sun and driven rain through a wet season, and an interior paint put outside chalks within a year. Priced from this market’s own interior paint at the premium merchants quote for the exterior grade, since no regional survey separates the two : the Kinshasa paint survey does not even state its container size, which is why the interior figure is itself an estimate. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per drum	$37 – $99	740 K – 2,004 K	Estimated
Primer or sealer (20 L drum)New render is alkaline and thirsty: without a sealer the first top coat is drunk into the wall, the colour goes patchy and the covering rate collapses, so the paint saved is spent twice over. Priced from this market’s own paint at the discount a primer usually carries, since no regional survey separates the two. A repaint over sound existing paint needs none, and the element lets it be unticked. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per drum	$24 – $59	477 K – 1,193 K	Estimated
Door ironmongery (lock, handle, 3 hinges)A lock case, a handle set and three hinges. Doors here are sold as a leaf and a frame and nothing else, `door_timber` is a timber door with frame, so a house with twelve doors needs twelve sets and the bill had none of them. No regional survey prices ironmongery; the band is scaled from this market’s own timber door, at the fifth of the door price merchants quote for a plain mortice set. A cylinder lock on an external door costs more and a padlock hasp costs less: this is the ordinary internal set, and somebody fitting security ironmongery overrides the line. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per set	$9 – $33	191 K – 667 K	Estimated
Electrical point, surface mountedSurface-mounted point: PVC trunking and clips on the face of the wall, no chase cut and no making good. Priced from this market’s own chased point rate less 20 per cent, the chasing and the render patch are what the two installations differ by, and on blockwork that is about a fifth of the point. No published survey separates the two: CYPE and the regional schedules price a chased point, because that is what a specification asks for. It is the cheaper build and the common one in a rented shop, a workshop, or any wall somebody expects to open again. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per point	$12 – $22	243 K – 437 K	Estimated
Ridge capping (pre-folded)A pre-folded ridge cap, sold in 2 m lengths at roughly the price of one sheet, which is the ratio merchants across the region quote. No published survey covers it, regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never the accessories, so the band is scaled from this market’s own sheet price and moves with it. It is a real line rather than flat sheet: a cap is folded to the ridge angle and costs more per square metre than the sheet it closes. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$6 – $12	119 K – 239 K	Estimated
Roofing fixings (box of 100)Self-drilling screws with EPDM washers, sold by the box of 100 at any hardware merchant. No published survey covers this item: regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never fasteners. The band starts from a retail price of 0.12 to 0.25 USD a screw observed across the region, and scales with this market’s own sheet price. At 7 screws/m² it is 1 to 2 per cent of the sheet cost, an error here does not move a roof budget, while omitting it drops a real item: a 300 m² roof needs about 2,100 of them. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per box of 100	$9 – $24	191 K – 477 K	Estimated
Grey cement (50 kg bag)The most out-of-date line in this pack, and that has to be said before the figure. No Lusaka price from 2025 or 2026 could be retrieved. What exists comes from the 2021 price-fixing episode: the international cement press then reported ZMW 135 to 145 a bag, which it itself converted to USD 6.00 to 6.45, against ZMW 110 directed by the competition authority and a stated “pre-cartel” reference of USD 4.50 to 5.00; Lafarge subsequently cut to about ZMW 120. The band carries those figures uprated for Zambian inflation since. Zambia makes its own cement (Chilanga near Lusaka, Dangote and Zambezi Portland at Ndola), so it should not be paying a landlocked country’s price, and it appears to anyway: that is the question a Lusaka depot price would settle.	per bag	$7 – $9	131 K – 182 K	Estimated
Scaffolding, erect and hireDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (1.4 to 4.0 a day) at an output of 2.5 to 6 m² of face erected, moved and struck per worker-day; hiring the equipment weighs less than the labour. Measured on the face worked above 2 m: below that you work off the ground or off trestles and nothing is hired. Nothing in this product bought any, when a 2.40 m wall rendered on both faces is not built from the ground. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per m² of elevation	$1 – $4	11 K – 78 K	Estimated
Slab proppingDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (1.4 to 4.0 a day), plus the hire of the props. A suspended slab is held by its props for three weeks before it carries its own weight: the formwork gives it its shape, the propping stops it coming down. Formwork has been priced since 2026-08-21 and what holds it up still was not. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per m² of soffit	$1 – $5	17 K – 108 K	Estimated
Setting outDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (1.4 to 4.0 a day) at an output of 5 to 12 m of perimeter set out per worker-day: profiles, lines, level and the day of the gang that marks it. It is the first spend on any site and no element carried it. Setting out wrongly is not corrected, it is demolished. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per metre of perimeter	$0 – $2	6 K – 39 K	Estimated
Mixing water, deliveredA cubic metre of concrete takes about 180 litres of mixing water, and on most sites here it arrives by tanker or in drums rather than through a connection. Estimated at the price of a tanker load spread over the volume of concrete, not at the metered price of water. Distinct from curing, already priced separately: this one goes into the mix, that one protects it after the pour. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per m³ of concrete or mortar	$0 – $3	8 K – 65 K	Estimated
Hand excavation, ordinary groundDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (1.4 to 4.0 a day) at the usual output for hand digging in ordinary ground, 1.5 to 2.5 m³ per worker-day: 4.0 ÷ 1.5 at the top of the band, 1.4 ÷ 2.5 at the bottom. A fixed price in dollars would mean nothing here, earthworks are almost entirely labour, and the labourer’s wage varies sixfold across the markets in the catalogue. Hard, rocky or waterlogged ground is outside this band and is handled case by case. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per m³	$1 – $6	27 K – 130 K	Estimated
Washed crushed sand (0/5)This market has no separate survey for crushed sand. Derived from this pack’s natural sand (11.0 to 24.0) at the ratio of 1.5 surveyed in Kolwezi on 2026-08-21, where Dilala natural sand is delivered at 20 USD/m³ and Katonto crushed sand at 30 USD/m³. It is the ratio that is carried over and not the price: crushing and washing cost much the same anywhere, whereas the price of natural sand depends mostly on the distance to the river. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per m³	$20 – $43	394 K – 859 K	Estimated
SandLusaka sells sand by the lorry and not by the m³, which is the practice almost everywhere in this product. A Zambian haulier’s listing quotes a double-axle 40-tonne tipper of sand at ZMW 8,000 plus ZMW 85 a kilometre for mobilisation; it is the mobilisation, not the sand, that decides the delivered price as soon as you leave the city. Converted at 19 ZMW/USD and a loose bulk density of 1.4 to 1.6. Ask the body capacity and the mileage before comparing two quotations: those are the two variables that make the figure.	per m³	$15 – $28	303 K – 566 K	Estimated
Crushed stoneThis line contradicts the freight argument the rest of the pack runs on, and it is carried as it stands. No published Zambian price: the Lusaka quarry that advertises itself as a 5 to 40 mm aggregate manufacturer publishes no rates. The only quoted figure found is Zimbabwean, USD 18 a m³ in Harare, a neighbouring and comparable market for stone. The rule applied everywhere else here lifts the Tanzanian band 18% for the corridor, which would give 20 to 40. Crushed stone does not come from Dar: it comes from a quarry thirty kilometres away, and so has no reason to pay the corridor. That is exactly why the uplift is not applied to it.	per m³	$15 – $30	303 K – 607 K	Estimated
Rubble stone (coral rag on Zanzibar)No published survey. Uncalibrated quarry stone, used in foundations. Set below crushed gravel in the same ratio as elsewhere and, like it, exempt from the corridor uplift: Zambian stone comes out of a Zambian quarry.	per m³	$11 – $24	222 K – 485 K	Estimated
Reinforcement barNo dated Zambian price found. A Lusaka steel merchant advertises high-yield bar Y8 to Y20 “from ZMW 50”, without saying which diameter or which length that applies to and without a date: unusable for Y12. The band is therefore an inference from neighbouring markets, where Kenya quotes a 12 m Y12 at KES 950 to 1,200 retail, brought to the tonne at 10.66 kg for a 12 m bar. Low confidence, and stated as such. Zambian steel arrives through Dar, through Durban or from South African production, and a roller’s price would settle this line in one question.	per tonne	$700 – $1,050	14,154 K – 20,827 K	Estimated
Steel section (IPE, HEA)Sections imported through Dar es Salaam. Limited structural steel capacity outside the commercial capital, so fabrication weighs heavily: see steelFabricationFactor. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per tonne	$900 – $1,500	18,138 K – 29,926 K	Estimated
Concrete block, 6 inch (150 mm)No published Zambian price. Lusaka’s block makers are identifiable and active (one advertises 8,000 six-inch blocks a day), but none publishes rates. The only quoted comparator is Zimbabwean: USD 1.64 for a 6 inch block at retail hardware, which is a retail price and sits above a block yard’s. Hence a band that is wide and low at the entry. The Zambian block is the dearest in this product after South Africa’s, and the explanation is labour: moulding a block is a worker’s time, and the Zambian worker costs two and a half times the Tanzanian.	each	$1 – $2	16 K – 34 K	Estimated
Concrete block, 4 inch (100 mm)The same derivation as the 6 inch block, in proportion to the volume of material used. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $1	7 K – 12 K	Estimated
Concrete block, 6 inch (150 mm)Derived from the sourced cement price, as above: material, moulding and the maker’s margin. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $1	10 K – 18 K	Estimated
Concrete block, 8 inch (200 mm)Same derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $1	13 K – 23 K	Estimated
Half block 15 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $1	6 K – 11 K	Estimated
Half block 20 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $1	8 K – 14 K	Estimated
Hollow block, 10 inch (250 mm)Same derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $1	16 K – 27 K	Estimated
Solid block, 6 inch (150 mm)The same derivation as the 6 inch hollow block, with solid material in place of the voids. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $1	16 K – 27 K	Estimated
Stabilised compressed earth blockManual press, site soil, 5 to 8% cement. The price is mostly labour and cement: it follows the minimum wage and the bag. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $0	4 K – 10 K	Estimated
Fired brickOne name for two products: artisanal kiln brick and factory brick. Fired brick is very widespread in Zambia, including in formal building in the Copperbelt towns, more so than the block in some provinces. The band covers both and so cannot be used to price anything until you have said which.	each	$0 – $1	2 K – 10 K	Estimated
Mud brickMoulded on site and sun dried. It does not travel and is hardly sold: the price is labourer’s time at the minimum wage, which here is the lowest in this product. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$0 – $0	0 K – 2 K	Estimated
Structural timberNo published Zambian per-m³ price. Zambia has a real miombo resource and pine plantations in the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces, but the trade sells by the piece and the nominal section (a 50 × 76 mm purlin over 3.6 m) and not by the m³, so a volume rate has to be rebuilt from piece prices and the merchant’s own conversion. The band is the Tanzanian one lifted for haulage and for the difference in sawmilling labour. To be replaced by a real quotation, stating the section.	per m³	$200 – $420	4,044 K – 8,493 K	Estimated
Profiled galvanised sheetSheet is sold by the linear metre in Lusaka, not by the sheet, which is the conversion made here for a 3 m sheet. Zambian traders’ listings give corrugated galvanised 0.30 mm at ZMW 65 a metre, IBR 0.30 mm at 68, and IBR 0.40 mm at 77 in Chinese coil against 88 in South African coil. The coil’s origin is priced separately and makes a 14% difference at the same thickness: it is a distinction no other market in this product makes openly, and it is worth asking for. Converted at 19 ZMW/USD.	per sheet	$8 – $14	162 K – 283 K	Estimated
Fibre-cement corrugated sheetFibre-cement sheet, dimensions to be confirmed with the seller: with no length and no width, a price per sheet never becomes a price per m². No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per sheet	$9 – $18	191 K – 358 K	Estimated
Roof tileConcrete or stone-coated metal tile, largely imported from neighbouring Kenya, which makes it. Confined to the top of the market. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$1 – $2	17 K – 43 K	Estimated
Floor tilingA Zambian survey dated 3 January 2024 gives ceramic floor tile at ZMW 100 to 200 a m² and porcelain at 200 to 300. It is a national retail figure, largely Lusaka’s, and it is two and a half years old: the band uprates it for Zambian inflation (CPI ran between 9 and 15% a year over 2024 and 2025) and then converts at 19 ZMW/USD. The conversion does more here than the inflation: the kwacha went from about 26 to 19 to the dollar between 2024 and 2026, so an unchanged kwacha price became a third dearer in dollars without anybody in Lusaka raising it.	per m²	$5 – $12	101 K – 243 K	Estimated
Tile adhesive (20 kg bag)Imported or locally formulated adhesive. Confirm the bag weight: the packaging varies from 20 to 40 kg according to the supplier. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per bag	$5 – $12	95 K – 239 K	Estimated
Tile groutImported product, sold in bags of 1 to 5 kg. Confirm the packaging before turning it into a price per kg. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per kg	$1 – $4	29 K – 72 K	Estimated
Emulsion paint (20 L tin)Local makers and imports. Confirm the drum volume: paint is sold by the bucket without the volume being stated, and a price with no unit never becomes a rate. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per tin	$28 – $73	572 K – 1,480 K	Estimated
Polythene damp-proof membraneSheet by the roll. EN 13967 is a product standard: it binds the supplier, not the site. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per m²	$1 – $1	11 K – 26 K	Estimated
Damp-proof course rollBituminous roll, EN 14967. Essential on the coast, where the water table is high and saline. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per linear metre	$1 – $2	19 K – 48 K	Estimated
SBS bitumen membrane 4 mmImported membrane, EN 13707. Torch-applied, labour not included in this price. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per m²	$8 – $18	167 K – 358 K	Estimated
Liquid waterproofing (per coat)Imported or locally formulated resin. Two coats at least, which the measurement counts separately. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per m² per coat	$2 – $5	43 K – 107 K	Estimated
Cementitious tanking slurry, per kgImported water-resistant mortar, EN 14891, for wet rooms and light tanking. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per kg	$2 – $5	41 K – 93 K	Estimated
PVC ceiling panellingSold by the board or the pack and never by the m²: confirm the board dimensions and how many are in a pack. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per m²	$5 – $13	107 K – 263 K	Estimated
PlasterboardImported board, grid included. A plywood ceiling remains very common in low-cost building and costs less. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per m²	$6 – $18	131 K – 358 K	Estimated
SkirtingSkirting in tile, timber or PVC. Always laid and almost never measured, which is exactly why it has a line here. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$2 – $7	43 K – 143 K	Estimated
Metal door with frameDoor from a local workshop, folded sheet on a welded frame. State whether the price covers the frame, the lock and the fitting: three answers circulate and the spread between them is wider than the spread between workshops. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per door	$65 – $190	1,312 K – 3,822 K	Estimated
Timber door with frameHollow-core or solid timber: two products, two prices, and the same name at the joiner’s. Solid timber is within reach here, the timber trade being active. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per door	$38 – $150	764 K – 2,993 K	Estimated
Glazed aluminium windowLocal workshop joinery from imported sections, glazing and fitting included. Above Tanzania for the haul, but most of the gap is the fitting: it is a skilled-labour item, and Zambia pays two and a half times the Tanzanian rate for it.	per m²	$70 – $180	1,415 K – 3,539 K	Estimated
Louvre windowThe ordinary window of the coast: it ventilates continuously, which counts when air conditioning is paid at the TANESCO tariff. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per m²	$26 – $65	526 K – 1,312 K	Estimated
Burglar barIronwork from a local workshop, per m² of opening protected. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per m²	$21 – $59	429 K – 1,193 K	Estimated
Stair balustradeIronwork or timber. EN 1991-1-1 §6.4 gives it a horizontal load: it is a structural element and not a finish, which is the reason this line exists. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$33 – $130	667 K – 2,629 K	Estimated
GutterFolded sheet or PVC, sized to EN 12056-3. Zambia has one rainy season only, November to April, but it is emphatic: Lusaka takes about 800 mm concentrated into five months, in violent storms. It is the hourly peak that sizes the gutter, and a modest annual average says nothing about that peak.	per metre	$6 – $16	111 K – 324 K	Estimated
Rainwater downpipeø 100 PVC, clips and bends included. Often run into a harvesting tank: with one rainy season and seven dry months, storing what falls between November and April has a direct value the equatorial markets do not have.	per metre	$4 – $12	71 K – 243 K	Estimated
Supply pipeworkPPR or pressure PVC, fittings included and fitting excluded: the data layer counts fitting with the other trades. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$2 – $5	38 K – 110 K	Estimated
Waste pipework (PVC ø 110)ø 110 PVC, fittings included. The metres of waste pipe are what a per-point price leaves out, since it pays only for the fixtures. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$3 – $9	62 K – 191 K	Estimated
Plumbing point (WC + basin)Fitted point, fixtures included. State whether the labour is inside it: the data layer counts labour separately, and an all-in price entered as it stands would pay the plumber twice. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per point	$260 – $460	5,338 K – 9,220 K	Estimated
Sanitary wareImported suite, from the cheapest Chinese to European sanitaryware. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per set	$94 – $350	1,909 K – 7,158 K	Estimated
Electrical pointFitted point, wiring included. The same caution as the plumbing about labour, which is counted elsewhere in the data layer. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per point	$7 – $13	143 K – 263 K	Estimated
Distribution board, per wayIEC 60364-4-41 requires automatic disconnection of supply, so it requires the protective devices. State whether the 30 mA residual current device is inside the price of the way. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per way	$12 – $35	239 K – 716 K	Estimated
Earth electrodeIEC 60364-5-54. It is the line most often absent from a house, and without it the residual current device has nothing to measure a fault against. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per installation	$45 – $150	906 K – 2,993 K	Estimated
Supply cable (4 × 10 mm²)Follows the copper price, so it is to be re-checked more often than the rest of the pack. State whether it is armoured. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per metre	$5 – $14	100 K – 275 K	Estimated
Storage tank, per litreRotomoulded polyethylene tank, imported from South Africa or made locally. The tank is the rule in Lusaka: the city has grown far faster than the LWSC network, and much of the periphery is on a borehole and a tank rather than on the mains.	per litre	$0 – $0	1 K – 5 K	Estimated
Submersible pumpImported pump. The rating follows the designWater calculation: head, drawdown and tower included, not the catalogue. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	each	$140 – $590	2,871 K – 11,930 K	Estimated
Tank tower, per metre of heightSteel tower from a local workshop. The height is what makes the pressure at the tap, which is the only reason to pay for it. No Zambian figure obtained: the Tanzanian band brought to the Zambian labourer’s wage, a factor of 2.4. It is the largest labour gap in this product between two neighbours, and it is real: the Zambian general minimum is ZMW 13.50 an hour where Tanzania has no comparable floor.	per metre	$180 – $650	3,640 K – 13,103 K	Estimated
Electric water heater, per litreImported storage heater, 50 to 200 L, sold by the cylinder and not by the litre: the price per litre is our conversion, to be confirmed capacity by capacity. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per litre of capacity	$1 – $3	26 K – 69 K	Estimated
Solar water heater, per litreImported thermosiphon. A good yield on the plateau, dry and sunny, and a real case for it: Lusaka is at 1,280 m and June and July nights drop below 10 °C, which is true of no coastal market in this product.	per litre of capacity	$3 – $9	59 K – 180 K	Estimated
Instantaneous gas water heaterImported appliance, sold by flow rate in L/min. LPG is bottled in the larger towns, but Zambia is an electric water-heater market: hydro power was cheap here for a long time, and the habit outlived the drought.	each	$95 – $310	1,921 K – 6,268 K	Estimated
Generator, per kVAFrom a Chinese set to a European one, imported through Durban or through Dar. The Zambian generator market was transformed by the 2024–25 drought, which drew Lake Kariba down to a level where load-shedding reached about twenty hours a day: the whole country bought. ZESCO has ruled out a return to nationwide load-shedding in 2026, but the installed base and the prices still carry the drought’s mark.	per kVA	$200 – $1,300	4,044 K – 26,286 K	Estimated
Solar PV, per WpPanel, inverter and fitting. The best solar resource in this product after the Sahel’s: the Zambian plateau is high, dry and clear for seven months of the year. The trade exploded with the 2024–25 drought and installers now exist in numbers, which holds fitting below what it would cost in a market of the same size.	per Wp	$1 – $2	16 K – 30 K	Estimated
Battery, per nominal kWhFrom flooded lead to lithium. Coastal heat shortens the life of lead: lithium pays back better than it looks. No Zambian figure obtained: the band is the Tanzanian one, lifted 18% for the 1,900 km between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam. Replace it with a Lusaka merchant’s price.	per kWh	$170 – $440	3,458 K – 8,836 K	Estimated
Hand-drilled borehole, per metre (to 40 m)No Zambian driller’s rate obtained. Well above Tanzania, for two reasons pulling the same way: labour, and the ground under Lusaka, a dolomitic karst where the water table is deep and a hole can pass through voids. Boreholes are very widespread in Lusaka, a large part of the city being supplied that way, which makes this line more used here than anywhere else in this product.	per metre	$75 – $170	1,517 K – 3,336 K	Estimated
Rig-drilled borehole, per metre (beyond 40 m)The same caution as the hand-drilling line. The hand-to-machine ratio is taken from the UNICEF/pS-Eau guide. On the Lusaka karst the rig is the rule rather than the exception: an auger does not go far there.	per metre	$180 – $430	3,640 K – 8,695 K	Estimated
LabourerThe floor is the legal minimum, calculated rather than approximated: the general minimum wages order sets the general worker at ZMW 13.50 an hour, which is ZMW 108 for an eight-hour day, USD 5.68 at 19 ZMW/USD. The full schedule is ZMW 2,313.10 a month inclusive of housing, transport and lunch allowances, on a legal week of 48 hours. The top is the observed rate, a Lusaka site labourer normally being paid above the minimum. This floor is two and a half times neighbouring Tanzania’s, and it is the fact that shapes this whole pack.	per day	$6 – $8	115 K – 162 K	Derived
MasonNo published Lusaka site rate. Searches for the National Council for Construction’s labour rate schedules and for building-industry collective agreements returned only South African and Zimbabwean data. About two daily minimums, the ratio observed on sites across the region. To be replaced by an NCC schedule, which exists and has not been obtained: it is the easiest gap in this pack to close.	per day	$10 – $17	202 K – 344 K	Estimated
Carpenter / formworkerThe same grade as the mason. Zambian roofing is sheet on a timber frame rather than a slab, so the carpenter is a site trade in his own right rather than a residual item.	per day	$10 – $17	202 K – 344 K	Estimated
SteelfixerThe same grade as the mason. A lighter item than in the universal-slab markets: in a Zambian house the reinforced concrete concentrates in the foundations and the ring beams.	per day	$10 – $17	202 K – 344 K	Estimated
ElectricianAbove the mason: a regulated trade, personal tools, and work that is expensive to put right when it is done badly. Zambia also has a pool trained by the mining industry, which makes the qualification more common than elsewhere in the region.	per day	$12 – $20	243 K – 404 K	Estimated
PlumberThe same grade as the electrician: a skilled trade, and an expensive one to put right when a leak appears in finished work.	per day	$12 – $20	243 K – 404 K	Estimated
PainterBetween the labourer and the mason: the movement is learned quickly but the finish shows, so the rate sits above the labourer.	per day	$8 – $13	152 K – 263 K	Estimated
TilerThe same grade as the mason: the difficulty is in the setting out and the flatness, not in the strength.	per day	$10 – $17	202 K – 344 K	Estimated
Site foremanSupervision, about twice a mason. It is the item the productivity factor moves most: without one, labour costs 35% more in days.	per day	$20 – $34	404 K – 687 K	Estimated

Importing: what the border adds

A foreign invoice gets compared against a delivered local price while carrying none of the charges that get it to the same place. Enter your supplier’s CIF quotation: duty, the agency levies and VAT are added in the order the administration applies them.

MaterialSupplier’s CIF quotationper tonneClaim the reduced VAT rate (1%)Cement inputs and materials for public infrastructure.

With no quotation entered, the local price stands in as a worked example.

CIF value (before the border)	$870
Customs duty (10%)	+ $87
Maritime freight levy	+ $50
Import quality inspection	+ $17
Industrial Promotion Fund	+ $17
Clearing agent and file charges	+ $26
VAT (16%)	+ $150
Landed cost, charges included	$1,200

Once cleared, importing costs more than the local market.

Landed cost, charges included: $1,200 · Local market: $870

Total charges on the CIF value: 40% · Industrial inputs

Assigning a material to a duty band is an interpretation: the rate follows the HS code your agent declares, and agents differ. The rates and the VAT are sourced; the split between agencies is our apportionment of a sourced total.

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Importing: what the border adds

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