Kazungula bridge heralds new era in trade

A road and rail bridge linking Botswana and Zambia was inaugurated on Monday, marking the completion of a multi-million-dollar project aimed at easing congestion at border crossings throughout the region.

The curved Kazungula bridge, which stretches for 923m over the Zambezi River, provides a long-needed alternative route for hauliers.

“This will lower the cost of doing business,” Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, anticipating “an increase in trade and competitiveness, job creation, tourism and other positive ripple effects”.

Construction of the $259 million (about R3.6 billion) project began in December 2014, co-funded by the African Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, regional governments and other grants.

Namibia and Zimbabwe joined the consortium in 2018.

The bridge will facilitate intra-regional freight transport by allowing trucks to bypass the Beitbridge border post between Zimbabwe and South Africa, which is always congested, with vehicles spending hours and even days queueing to cross.

At Monday’s ceremony, Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi said the bridge would “open avenues for improved trade”.

And Zimbabwe’s leader President Emmerson Mnangagwa hailed what he called a “milestone achievement” for the region.

The current leader of the African Union and president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, also attended the event. –

Picture: AFP WAY FORWARD. The new Kazungula bridge over the Zambezi River in Botswana replaces a sluggish ferry previously linking the country and Zambia with a one-stop border post.