“This shortage was as a result of a pipeline leakage at Ilinga in Tanzania, which caused the temporary shutdown for repair works,” said George Zulu, the permanent secretary for the energy department.
“I wish to assure the motorists not to panic as the trucks from Dar es Salaam are arriving in the country,” Zulu told AFP.
Zambia, which is Africa’s biggest producer of copper, gets most of its petrol from Tanzania.
Long queues started forming outside pump stations, which started running dry on Sunday.