Friday, March 29, 2024

Copperbelt to get new Railway line

Share

Government is setting up a railway line from neighboring Angola via Mwinilunga district to Chingola on the Copperbelt Province.

North-western Province Minister Kenneth Chipungu who confirmed the development in Solwezi today said the move seeks to ease the pressure on the road network.

Mr. Chipungu observed that the roads were being damaged due to heavy equipment ferried by trucks.

The minister said the railway will facilitate the transportation of copper by rail to Lobito bay in Angola.

He said government through the Ministry of Communications and Transport is negotiating with a possible financier of the project.

Mr. Chipungu said it is estimated that the project would be completed before the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Lumwana Mine in Solwezi in the North-western Province is set to be commissioned on September 5, this year, provincial minister Kenneth Chipungu has confirmed.

Mr. Chipungu said that the commissioning of the mine was delayed due to the inferno which gutted part of the machinery and some buildings at the mining site.

He has since commended Lumwana management for investing in North-western Province in particular and Zambia as a whole, as such enormous investment would greatly contribute to national development.

Mr. Chipungu said Lumwana Mine has created over 4,000 jobs for the local community as well as a few foreign technocrats who are helping Zambia achieve technological and skill transfer using modern mining techniques.

40 COMMENTS

  1. Don’t just sing , we want action first! lobito corrido is long overdue, shortest route to the coast and lucrative investment.

  2. What really is wrong with Dora Siliya and her ministry?why do you want to block Kavindele you kagelo?let the man do his job and leave some legacy!!

  3. QUOTED…..
    He said government through the Ministry of Communications and Transport is negotiating with a possible financier ???Mr. Chipungu said it is estimated that the project would be completed before the end of this yearoject????

    CAN SOMEONE CONNECT THESE TWO STATEMENTS, PLEASE? I DONT SEE LOGIC IN THIS.HOW DO YOU ANTISPATE WITHOUT RESOURCES?

  4. Kavindele couldn’t provide the govt proof of financing for the railway line that’s why they tossed him. His financers wanted Lumwana and Kansanshi to sign a binding contract to be their preferred mode of transportation before committing US$400m to the project.

    Lumwana and Kansanshi, rightly so, refused because they didn’t want their hands tied to one transporter, in a free market and they insisted that will always retain the right to choose the best, reliable and economical mode of transporting their products. So Kavindele simply had the right idea but zero funding.

  5. Yaba, bane is it because we are black? Awe this lack of thinking is scaring to say the least. Lobito and then the trains will be coming back empty? And then there will be another railway line from Chingola to Solwezi, but kwena!

  6. #4. Nchelelebula
    The govt has done well not to go with Kavindele’s company.It’s sad you don’t remember history.kavindele was one of the people reported to have been mentioned in the report that implicated Zambia of aiding Angolan rebels(UNITA) to send diamonds abroad thru Aero Zambia in exchange for firearms.Kavindele was said to have had shares in Aero Zambia which was subsequently shut by govt as Angola almost declared war on Zambia,do you remember the bomb scares & how The Post newspaper got into trouble for writing in their paper that the Zambian army was too weak to fight Angola detailing all equipment the Zambia Army had.

  7. If the Mchinji-Chipata railwayline took so long,it will be a miracle to pull off the Chingola-Mwinilunga-Angola or Chingola-Zambezi-Angola line in our life time.Just tarring the Solwezi-Zambezi road has taken three republics and still no sign of completion.I recall Lupando Mwape saying the road would be completed in three years,i.e.2009. I wonder.

  8. uyu minister aanama,his a liar ati ,quote ,its estimated that the project would be completed at the end of the year .how many govt projects are still pending, alot and how do expect this project to be completed before december,liar, tazara took more than six years and this project has alot of hurdles coz of landmines in angola and northwestern province,i dont believe them.

  9. #11 stop revealing state secrets on the internet (joke). Well, Anonymous #2 is right, there’s a lot to be done in terms of transport and infrastructure in Zambia, so let’s not waste time talking…just get on to work!

  10. good news by the end of this year the project will be completed (in four month`s time ) bakwindi muli babufi. just work instead of making fake promises

  11. Iwe minister iwe find a financer first b4 you know when the project will be completed. And anyway, what railway project from Angola to Chingola would be completed within four months, during the rain season?

  12. Positive development indeed. Railroad is the backbone of economic development. Ask US and Britain. However RSZ is in serious need of restructuring or nationalisation. They have clearly failed to provide reliable rail service. In 2006 a train carrying sulphuric acid destined for the mines derailed in Southern Province. RSZ failed to prevent the derailment and mitigate the environmental effects of the acid spill. FQM’s Bwana Mkubwa Site had to send staff to the site to clean up the area and recover their overturned tanker.

    Imagine if our finished petroleum was being distributed to urban centres from Ideni via efficient rail. That would surely knock K1,000 off pump prices.

  13. In fact this is long overdue. Those travelling on Solwezi – Chingola road would have noticed the number of trucks carrying concentrate to Copperbelt smelters. The road will be in pieces in a few months time. With this railway, concentrate can find it’s way smoothly to Mufulira and Chambishi; and cathode straight to the Atlantic coast for export. The mining companies will be laughing to the bank, the road users will be touching 200 kmh on the way to PoPos in Solwezi, and JC Bousfield will be out of business!

  14. This country we like talking too much! lelo ni mpombo with big words from dictionary, mailo Mulongoti ati ……. masosi ati railway lune in 4 months, blya bushiku ati ifi nefi very foolish. let us know when our LPM will come back

  15. Discussing a project to be completed in 4 months with no FUNDING. Minister how do you do it? Better go and pray for Lpm if nothing much to say or do.

  16. Because leadership pa zed is in the hands of dogs (if at all dogs have hands). Chaps are just ranting anything, anyhow, anywhere, and to whomever without giving thought to what they say. Where on earth, given our situation pa zed, does a person like Chipungu think such a multimillion dollar project can complete within 4 months. Thank God for LPM and his good works but it seems all this is being undone by the chaps he gave jobs and at a very fast rate. Sad to say but zed is going to pay dearly for this one serious mistake LPM made.

  17. No, Mr Minister its not possible to complete such a project by the end of this year. Did you mean completing the Negotiation Phase ? Lets be realistic and Serious with national developmental issues….

  18. Ifwee twadabwilefye bayamba ukupasa inyanji ku CB,upto now some of us do not even know where the dismantled Steel rails and sleepers are.We are only seeing the big fish guys in CB towns buying ama mark ii,rav 4,premio name it.Any way nipa Zed.

    White people plan for the future we dont,how do you run mines with only roads as the main transport,yet we know that mining & other large scale industries transport big and heavy equipment.Apapene twapokele ama grants for roads,where are we going to source for others to start building again.Chalishupa muzedi pipo.

  19. End of the year? Is it a joke? This works out to 3 Km per day Bush clearing, formations, culvert, bridges, laying rails, signals, stations,etc We have not even seen the procuement notice in the media for these work.

  20. i dont undersatand y we ve sickhead ministers this…how can u on earth complete a massive project which u ve not even commenced in almost 3 months….hahahahah!

  21. The rail line between Ndola and Luanshya is nomore and we are seeing heavy equipment being transported to between these two places. If some one suggests to revamp this line for sure it will be rejected and will only be considered if a government official speaks – example issue Kavindele issue

  22. Whooo whooo. Circus show. Rail line my ass, another utopian dream by the jackals and hyenas to divert the peoples attention from the real issues.

  23. Has the govt borrowed he urgency of repossibility from the watchtowers when they built 1600sq feet churches in a week? Chipungu Walipena mukamba wandi.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading