Presidents’ Kazungula tour set
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu and his counterparts from Botswana and Zimbabwe Lt. Gen. Ian Khama and Emerson Mnangagwa respectively are today expected to tour the Kazungula Bridge project which is expected to be completed and handed over next year.
First secretary for press and public relations at the Zambia High Commission to Botswana Kasabo Kalusa yesterday said President Lungu, together with his counterparts will tour the US $259 million project today. “His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, will on Saturday, March 10, 2018 undertake a tour of the Kazungula Bridge Project with His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Botswana, Lt. Gen. Dr. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, and His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Mr. Emerson Dambuzo Mnangagwa.
“The Kazungula Bridge Project (KBP) is a multi-national project on the North-South Corridor (NSC) within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The $259 million dollar project will be a state of the art 923 metre-long by 18.5 metre-wide bridge. The project is a bilateral initiative by Zambia and Botswana - implemented and co-financed by the two Governments,” he said.
He said once completed, the Kazungula Bridge will not only boost trade and commerce between the two nations but will further enhance the economic activities and prospects of other land linked countries such as Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique.
“It will facilitate trade, commerce and investment through improved efficiency of transit traffic and reduction on the prolonged periods of time that local and international freight would have to spend on either side of the border. The bridge will also lead to improved border management operations at One Stop Border Facilities on either side of the two countries.
“Further, the Kazungula Bridge will also address the challenges imposed by the existing ferry service that only takes in two trucks when crossing the Zambezi River. The project scope entails the construction of a 923m long rail/road extra dosed cable stayed bridge including approach roads as well as construction of One Stop Border Pots (OSBP)- Botswana/ Zambia and ramps on either side,” he said.
He said the project also included the construction of a single-line railway track between two traffic lanes and pavements for pedestrians. He said the construction of the facility began in December 2014 with Daewoo Engineering and Construction of South Korea as the lead contractor and that manpower and human resource has been recruited from the two project financing countries Zambia and Botswana. He added that the handover of the project to the two Governments was expected in March 2019.