In an attempt to quell fears that the progress of Zambia's digital migration project may be stifled due to lack of funds, the country's president Edgar Lungu confirmed that the next phases would begin before year end.

Lungu told lawmakers during the official opening of parliament on Friday that unlike phase one, which just covered Lusaka and towns along the line of rail, phases two and three will begin before year-end and will cover the rest of the country.

He said Zambia was proud to be among the few Southern African countries to migrate to digital broadcasting under phase one, and that he sees no reason why phases two and three of the project should fail.

The Zambian government has already awarded the digital migration contract for these critical phases to China's Star Software Technologies at a cost of $273 million. The tech firm implemented phase one of Zambia's digital migration project for $9.6 million.

Government sources have revealed that the Southern African country is seeking financial assistance from China to proceed with the project. Lungu has not refuted reports that currently the country has no funds available and has turned to China for help.

Phase two of the project is said to be over a year behind schedule as it was supposed to run up to January 2015 in preparation for the start of phase three.

Zambia almost failed to beat the 17 June deadline, set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), due to financial challenges that affected the importation of migration equipment.

Lungu said digital migration will provide a platform for ensuring maximum flow of information across the country and the creation for new opportunities for employment. "Digital migration will require a lot of local content for our television programming and this will be yet another window for the development of talents and job creation."