Government has announced major plans to construct infrastructure across various sectors of the economy through the Public Private Partnership arrangements.
Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says the projects include roads, airports, border posts, farming blocks, power generation, transport and housing units.
Dr. Musokotwane said this during a media briefing in Lusaka, Wednesday.
He said in the road sector, government will engage private developers to construct a network of dual carriage roads spreading from Livingstone through Lusaka to Solwezi and the Coppebelt.
Dr. Musokotwane said construction of the Kitwe – Chingola dual carriage way from Ndola to Kasumbalesa will start in August.
He said other roads earmarked for dual carriage ways are Livingstone-Kafue, Lusaka-Chirundu, Kafulafuta – Luanshya turn off and Chingola-Solwezi-Mwinilunga-Jimbe road.
He said awarding of contracts for dual carriage roads will start next month while construction will commerce in November this year.
Dr Musokotwane said the construction of infrastructure at Kasumbalesa border post under the Build and Transfer Model is expected to be completed in December with commissioning scheduled for January 2011.
He said the project will save government about 13 million US dollars.
Other projects include the Lusaka International airport and the Nasanga farming block .
ZNBC
Action speaks louder than words. We want to see actions not mere talk. Two years ago there were talk of the Lusaka Master Plan to upgrade the transport infrastructure: roads and railway with help from Japan. BUT this now quite nothing on the ground.The ideas sound good but we need action…
Targeting the year of elections!!! What about the other roads whose work began 15 years ago?? like the Luwingu-Kasama road, a distance of about 165KM.
Why do the same roads over and over? There has been no tarred road between Senanga and sesheke since indepedence. Should Barotseland go it alone inorder to see development? Please build roads in Western Province also. If this neglect continues Africa will soon have its First Female Rebel leader. Dont say you were not warned!
Mwata you are an ***** and I know you are a son or daughter of the Zambian government ( MMD thugs). I hate people with small brains like you as our next government leader HH puts it. You does are numbered, late you father know .
Firstly, MMD plans are by and large influenced by corruption. Secondly, they do not plan beyond the next election. Its just a year or two ago that the government hired a shitty Chinese contractor to do the Kafulafuta – Luanshya turn off road (already got potholes) and now they are saying it will be a dual carriage road ?!
We won’t progress with infrastructure development if we don’t plan for up to at least 50 years. I know no heavily used road lasts that long without maintenance but at least we won’t hear that a road just resurfaced yesterday will be all done up again because they’ve decided to change the design. Let them lay down long term plans.
Great and refreshing news. Thanks Situmbeko Musokotwane. I hope you are still a man of your words. Country first.
N# 2 & 3, you do not need to go back to school to know that those roads in Northern and Western provinces are not economically viable, besides the infrastractual development government is proposing will be undertaken as private-public partnerships initiatives, so you may as well propose to government for a partnership where you can do the roads in your province. By the way tumbs up to the Chipata Municipal Council for the good tarred roads, street lighting and traffic lights. The city in waiting already looks great.
I hope this will work. I plan on doing some work on PPP’s with government. Instead of being critics it is better to try and make a contribution to our beloved Zambia
#7 Impi Kummawa You are an i.d.i.ot. Governments build roads, energy infrastructure, schools, hospitals wherever there are people. A country’s greatest resource is its people. Go back to school you dim/wit.
#9 Princess-We are in the 20th CENTURY and not Kaunda Era where government was trying to build everything for you upto your door steps, inclunding a community toilet,even when government did not have enough resources at its disposal. You need to get out that Kaunda mentality from your small brains, including the use of the word ‘*****’. Governments worldwide have gone PPP’s because they are effecient public delivery delivery systems.Western Province will continue lacking behind in development as long as its citizen’s like you just sit and whin like a puppy waiting to suck.
Viva-Situmbeko, viva RB!
Toooo Late, anyway the pact will commission must of this work …..
#9, Princess, I need to marry you the beautiful princess so that I assist you in bringing development to Western Province using PPPs like I have started doing in FortJameson.
#13 Impi Kummawa
What is this nonsense you are on? Can you mention one private Easterner who has built a road in Eastern Province? Who is paying for the Chipata-Mfuwe Road? If infrastructure development was about private individuals why should it take the Finance Minister to announce these projects;?Why not let the natives of the provinces in which these projects will be built announce this? Of what interest is it to tax payers and other Zambians for the Minister to get involved in these projects? One would have thought, as per your advice to me, that this was the business for the natives of the respective provinces ! In short my dear; it is nonsensical for you to be urging me to build roads in Western Province. This is a govt responsibility pure and simple.
So simply, the government can not build roads to areas without economic importance like western province. People of western province should woke up.
Dear Dr. Musokotwane and your Government,
Here is some free advise. Why not do all the background work quitely incluidng signing of contracts and then once the contractors move on site then you can make the noise you are making now. The people of Zambia are tired of hearing those stories. Is this latest STORY related to the MUFUMBWE stories on roads or its a new STORY! We still havent forgotten the STORY from last year Decemeber that the road from Makeni turn-off to Kafue will be worked on by March, 2010. What month is this? Yes you heard me this is JUNE, 2010…any work on kafue road. Nothing not even simple road lines!!! So Mr Minister the talking is IRRITATING US. Please we want to see contractors move on Site and not that Cheap talk. 2010 HERE WE COME!!!
impi kummawa is good example of lack of objectivity. it is govt’s responsibility to initiate and deliver capital projects which open up areas for development. w/ province and other parts of zed need infrastucture like roads, rail, telecomunications, hospitals and schools to develop. otherwise potential for development is all over. w/ province is rich by any standards and this wealth is available for all citizens to enjoy if it is developed so you do not need to revel in the fact that the province is currently underdeveloped.that is to all of us’s disadvantage. if anything no province in the country is developed even your so called chipata province.