Kazungula Bridge rakes in P2.3m

The newly opened Kazungula Bridge raked in P2.3 million in toll fees in June, just a month after its official opening by the leaders of Botswana and Zambia. The bridge is a critical economic corridor for Southern Africa and beyond, providing an alternative to north and south-bound traffic from the industrial hubs and seaports of South Africa through to the northern parts of the SADC region. Finance and Economic Development ministry data indicates that the Kazungula border as a whole generated P4.4 million in June through the bridge tolls as well as road transport permits, import customs duty, value-added tax and other revenues. The border had previously recorded about P2 million in revenues in June 2020. Finance Ministry officials also noted that the bridge had recorded 6,312 arrivals in June 2021, up from 1,314 a year before, with commercial trucks rising to 2,504 from 1,257 over the same period.