Zambia's Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) said on Tuesday that the country's minister of energy, Mathew Nkhuwa, had issued a statutory instrument declaring all of the company's distribution and transmission lines as "common carrier".

"The has for all intents and purposes taken steps that amount to expropriation of CEC infrastructure... taking away CEC's commercial and property rights, and completely inhibiting the company from making viable business decisions," it said in a statement, adding it would engage the government in talks.

(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Writing by Emma Rumney)