K136m released for Kazungula bridge works

GOVERNMENT has released K136 million for the construction of the multimillion Kazungula Bridge and to dismantle arrears owed to local contractors.

Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe said the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) was expected to pay K28 million for the ongoing works at the Kazungula Bridge project. Ms Mwanakatwe in a statement yesterday, said once the Kazungula project was completed, it would facilitate trade, commerce and investment through improved efficiency of transit traffic and reduction in the time that local and international freight takes to be cleared on either sides of the border.

“My ministry has released K136 million to the National Road Fund Agency to dismantle arrears related to road projects and other related activities. “With this funding, the NRFA is expected to pay K28 million for the ongoing works at the Kazungula Bridge project, a multi-million bilateral project on the north-south corridor, on the border between Zambia and Botswana,” she said.

And the minister said part of this funding tranche had been earmarked for the local routine maintenance contractor under the Road Development Agency (RDA), and those under the Ministry of Local Government. She said the targeted group was in excess of 300 and employed more than 15, 000 workers countrywide.

The release of these funds was not only a cash flow stimulus for the small scale contractors, Ms Mwanakatwe said, but also a demonstration of the government’s commitment to the domestic arrears dismantling strategy. “In this regard, we have put in place a system that will ensure that the main road contractors, sub-contractors, and consultants are also paid in due course,” she said.