On September 5th 2014, the Zambian Road Development Agency (RDA) announced the signing of a USD 162 million contract by the Governments of Zambia and Botswana for the construction of the Kazungula Bridge.
The bridge is set to improve traffic flow and facilitate the easy crossing of various goods and services between the two countries across the Zambezi River.
The project is funded by the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), the African Development Bank (ADB) and the two governments of Zambia and Botswana.
The Kazungula Bridge construction project will be undertaken by South Korean Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C) and is expected to be completed in four years.
The work scope includes the construction of a road and rail bridge for a total length of 923 meters as well as approach ramps.
The contract was signed by the heads of the Executing Agencies of the two countries, Engineer Bernard Chiwala Chief Executive Officer of Zambia’s Road Development Agency and his Botswana counterpart Ms. Goitsemang Morekisi, Co-coordinator of the Transport Hub of Botswana.
According to a joint statement, the Kazungula Bridge will ease the flow of traffic and facilitate the full development of trade between the two nations as well as in the SADC region.
According to the RDA, the bridge will eliminate the risks associated with operating pontoons, and provide other benefits including the integration of the economies served by the North South Corridor, the reduction in transit time (from 36 hours to 2 hours) as well as of transportation costs, increased traffic flow in the region and increased revenue for both countries.
