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President Hakainde Hichilema has announced that works on the much awaited 327 kilometres Ndola-Lusaka dual carriage project have commenced.
In his official social media platform, Hichilema said this was one of new dawn administration’s flagship project under the Public Private Partnership financing model.
“Government is looking forward to the smooth completion of the project and lay the foundation for other similar arrangements as it makes Zambia the transport hub for Southern and Central Africa,” he said.
Government this year signed a concession agreement with Macro Ocean Investment Consortium Limited for the upgrading to dual carriageway 327 kilometres of the Lusaka to Ndola Road under the Public Private Partnership framework.
Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Charles Milupi, said also included in the scope of works was the rehabilitation of 45 kilometres of the Luanshya-Fisenge-Masangano roads, the construction of Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi bypasses, the construction of two weighbridges and the expansion of existing bridges.
During the unveiling of the project last year, Milupi said the concession period would be 25 years and three years would be for construction and 22 years for operations and maintenance.
He further stated that the transportation sector was critical to the economic growth of any nation as it facilitated commerce and trade of goods and services.
Government, he said, was desirous of promoting investment and participation by the private sector in the development and maintenance of the transportation and logistics infrastructure in the country.
“The demand for road infrastructure development in Zambia remains high while the resource envelope is not adequate to bridge the financing gap for road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance works,” he said.
Milupi indicated that in order to overcome the constraints imposed by limited financial resources, the new dawn government intended to build or rehabilitate these high traffic roads using the Public Private Partnership (PPP) financing model.
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“The project will cost US$ 649, 976,167 and the breakdown was US$ 577,383,758 total cost of construction, US$ 1 million working capital, US$1,849,500 finance cost and US$69,742,909 interest during the construction period,” he said.
Milupi said the model was intended to provide relief fiscally by allowing the private sector to collaborate with the government by investing in public infrastructure and receiving compensation in the form of toll fees for a set period of time called the ‘concession period’.
He added that the project for the upgrading to dual carriageway of the Lusaka to Ndola road was scheduled for execution using the PPP mode of financing and the solicited mode was adopted in order to enhance competition, transparency, fairness, equity and cost-effectiveness.
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