Kazungula bridge works on track, says Govt
CONSTRUCTION of the Kazungula Bridge is on track without any problem as claimed by some people, Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing Permanent Secretary Charles Mushota has said.
Mr. Mushota said unlike the lies going round on social media, works at the site were going on well and the contractor was in full swing to ensure that the works were completed on time.
Mr Mushota said in an interview that construction works at the Kazungulu Bridge was going on well with no work stoppage.
He was reacting to a story on social media yesterday purporting that work at the Kazungula Bridge had stopped a second time due to delays by the Zambian government to release funds.
However, Government reaffirmed that works at the Kazungula Bridge was going smoothly without any problems.
Last month, government released K136 million for the construction of the Kazungula Bridge and to dismantle arrears owed to local contractors.
Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe directed the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) to pay K28 million for the works at the Kazungula bridge project.
Ms Mwanakatwe in a statement, 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.
The construction of the Kazungula Bridge is a bilateral initiative between Botswana and Zambia, which commenced in December 2014 at a cost of about US$234 million. The project scope includes the building of a bridge linking Botswana and Zambia over the Zambezi River to replace the existing ferry and includes one-stop border post facilities at Kazungula.