The government of Zambia has expressed satisfaction with the progress made on the Kazungula Bridge project announcing that the development nears completion. President Edgar Lungu of Zambia who acknowledged the progress said that the bridge is 78% complete and is optimistic that the project will be completed on schedule.
Kazungula Bridge
The Kazungula Bridge is being constructed at the Kazungula crossing, where Botswana and Zambia share a border measuring about 750 metres over the Zambezi River. It is also at the confluence of Zambezi and Chobe rivers, and the meeting point of the four southern African countries – Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The US $259.3m project was officially launched in September 2014 by then Vice-presidents of Zambia and Botswana, Dr Guy Scott, and Ponatshego Kedikilwe, respectively, and is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the two governments.
The multi-million-dollar project was hailed as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) economic integration success stories, one of the missing links to realizing the North-South Corridor identified under the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP). The bridge project is expected to facilitate trade with Botswana and within the SADC region.
The project, which entails construction of a 923 metre-long rail/road extra dosed cable stayed bridge with approach roads as well as construction of one stop border posts on the Zambia and Botswana sides, was scheduled for completion last year but failed due to Zambia’s failure to pay. The contractor has however assured both governments of the project completion and delivery of at the expected time in 2020 if payments are made soon.
The bridge is expected to reduce transit time for freight and passengers, boost the regional economy and even increase global competitiveness of goods from Botswana and Zambia due to reduced time-based trade and transport costs.
Extract from constructionreviewonline.com