Thursday, March 28, 2024

Contract for Construction of 98.3 Km Nyimba- Luangwa Bridge road rises from 33.1 million to 55.6 million Euros

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Road works along the Great East Road have are up beat such as this stretch near Nyimba
GOVERNMENT has said the contract sum for the 98.3 kilometres Nyimba-Luangwa Bridge stretch on the Great East Road has been revised from 33.1 million Euros to 55.6 million Euros.

Eastern Province Minister Makebi Zulu told journalists in his office in Chipata on Thursday that this was to allow quality works be completed on the Nacala corridor phase project.

Mr Zulu said the works on the Great East Road from Luangwa Bridge to Mwami border are progressing well despite the slowdown on the 15 kilometre Petauke-Sinda stretch.

He said that 15 kilometres will be completed once the rains are over because what delayed the works was the misunderstanding between the contractor and the funders, which have since been resolved.

He said the portions that have been done on the road so far are okay and the contractor would be able to rectify any defaults before the project is handed over to government.

And Mr Zulu said the Chipata-Chadiza –Katete road works which started in 2013 and were expected to be completed in June 2017 were still at 33.9 percent due to some challenges that the contractor encountered. Mr Zulu said that Government wants to complete the already existing projects before starting the new ones next year.

He said Government has plans to rehabilitate some feeder roads in Chipata, Chadiza, Lundazi, Petauke, Nyimba, Sinda and Mambwe districts next year.

He also said that mobilization works on the Chama- Lundazi road are underway while works on the Nabwalya-Mfuwe road were at 15 percent and would continue next year.

Mr Zulu has said various infrastructure developments have been recorded in the province.

He said some of the projects which have not been completed would be able to receive funding in order to be completed.

The minister said he was happy that most of the projects were going and some almost reaching the completion point.

He disclosed that the construction of Vubwi Civic Centre at a cost of K6 million which was at 40 percent and assured that the contractor would receive funding in order to complete the construction of a civic centre and two high cost houses.

He said the construction of 10 medium houses at a cost of K11 million and 20 low cost houses at a cost of K6.6 million in the new district was progressing well.

Mr Zulu said the constructions of 1×4 classroom block at Anoya Zulu Secondary School have been completed and was currently being used. He said the construction of administration blocks in Vubwi, Sinda and Nyimba districts was going on.

Mr Zulu also assured that the Government was determined to complete the construction works including some township roads in Eastern Province.

And some families in Mambwe district have been affected by floods and hailstorm caused by heavy rains.

Mr Zulu who is Malambo Constituency Member of Parliament said most of the affected families in six wards of Mambwe district had roofs of their houses blown off due to hail storms experienced in the area.

He said Government through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit(DMMU) was assisting the 750 families with iron sheets and food stuffs.

Mr Zulu however said the number of families affected by floods may increase because of the rains.

He said that DMMU has also released 110 metric tonnes of maize to be given to families affected by hunger in Msoro area.

He said most parts of the province have been affected by hunger or heavy rains and that Government would move in to assist all of them.

33 COMMENTS

  1. Margin is too huge,in fact why an increase…for what…from 33.1million Euro to 55.6 million euros,the difference of 22.5 million euros is too much.broad day right stealing guys.
    Am here wishing all my fellow LT bloggers a warm happy new -2017-year….stay blessed brothers and sisters..

    • This road is still way too cheap compared to our locally contracted roads. At the initial contract sum, this road costs about 350,000 Kwacha a kilometer. At the revised cost, it comes to about 580,000 Kwacha a Kilometer. The Mansa Luwingu road had cost about 1,100,000 Kwacha a kilometer. If we look at the terrain, the Nyimba to Luangwa road is far more challenging than the Mansa to Luwingu road. We in government should open up our minds. This is not an issue with the politicians. It is us in the Civil Service who are careless but all this is blamed on political leaders.

  2. Lol, this how they loot and steal money. Who the hell did all estimates? Look, we all know that these corrupt fools will pocket the money. There won’t be any quality work this fool is talking about.

  3. @Dudumwezi, you are right. This is broad daylight robbery of finances. At least an increase of less that 5m would have been understandable than what they have increased with

  4. The money and all contractual obligations are from European Union. The Zambian Government has nothing to do with the Great East Road other than a smaller portion between Petauke and Sinda. ADB though delayed their part hence the delay on that stretch.

    The funder is EU and the contractor is from Portugal.

  5. This road which was contracted by the EU is still very cheap compared to our locally contracted roads. The initial contract sum worked out to about 350,000 Kwacha a km. The Man’s Luwingu road had cost about 1,100,000 Kwacha per kilometer. With the revised cost, this road now cost roughly 590,000 Kwacha per kilometer. If we look at the terrain and the kind of works being done, the Nyi ba to Luangwa road is more challenging. One wonders why our locally contracted roads are so expensive.

    • “One wonders why our locally contracted roads are so expensive.”?????

      Please be serious! Where have you been sleeping? Locally contracted roads are always more expensive.

      50% is the the actual cost of substandard construction.

      20% is the corrupt kickback for the contract.

      30% is to top-up Lungus Two Million dollar account to make sure there is no ACC investigation.

      = 100% = 1,100,000 per kilometer.

      Now you have the answer to your question.

  6. I thought this portion of Nyimba to Luangwa bridge has already been done by the contractor Mota Engil? Maybe the increase in price is due to variations brought about by inadequate scope details.

    • Actually the stretch between Luangua bridge and Nyimba has already been done, I was in that area a few weeks ago. The stretch which is still unfinished is the one from Nyimba heading to the East. But there are some parts which are already done on the stretch towards Chipata. There is definitely something wrong with the reporting.

  7. By the way the workmanship looks good on this road. I have been driving between Lusaka and Petauke on this stretch for the last six months almost every month and I like the road. Hope the same quality spec can be used on the government funded projects which are even costing more per Kilometer than this road.

    • …baba a sharp…
      ..if you cannot manage to go to Europe try near by there pa South Africa or Namibia to see what a good highway road looks like…I cany even see any road marks or signs no hard shoulders…the width is as if its only one lane…bembas say ..umwana ashyenda atashya nyina ukunaya…and that’s you…

    • #Sharp i entirely agree with you that this stretch of road has been beautifully worked on. The engineering is just amazing! Give credit where it is due. That stretch between Luangwa bridge and Kacholola has claimed many lives in the past. The infamous ‘jefaro’ corner, that area is now safe. The road is wider with a broad shoulder. Signage is ‘ok’ although it could be improved like indicating mileage / distances to nearest towns. A UBZ driver would be gobsmacked to drive on the greater Great East road today.

  8. We will find out the truth in 2018 or 2019 when the Auditor General’s report is published… all I can say. Enjoy a more transparent 2017 y’all. In fact LET’S make 2017 a transparent year so that all the cockroaches and vermin scuttling around in the shadows have nowhere to hide.

  9. …yes…. another conduit for externalising dirty money…there is no way a variation order can be given in excess of 68% of the original tender…..this is were the preferred and eventually the successful bidder was told to deliberately under value at the time of bidding knowing very well that during the course of the contract it will be adjusted upwards astronomically….there is no difference with single sourcing here….auditors are supposed to scrutinise such tenders as if one is determining if the diamond is real or fake….

  10. We have failed. Both the ruling and opposition parties wont take us anywhere. Hope and solutions are insight. The British government must come in and adopt us. This is a solution, I do not know the modalities of how this should be done or how dividends should be paid to them and us as Zambia but Lets critically look at this option, they also need our trees, our resources.

    • @Carlos
      You are absolutely right. The biggest problems we have are ‘SELFISHNESS and LAZINESS’ and this is what makes us different from Whites.

  11. How do you plan you people? Do you ever sit down to plan or you get into a flight of ideas on how to cash in on every project? These are Economic Crimes that continue to go unpunished! For how long will this rot continue and we continue watching?

  12. You people are not fair to zambians and you the first ones to throw a stone on us zambian contractors mean while you busy busy giving variations to foreign companies. Local contractors will quote for a job and it takes about a year to,be given and no variations and after completing it takes another year to be paid in full. And to add salt to the wound ZRA comes to collect it’s share with interest. Now where does ZRA expect us to get the money to pay them ,when it’s the same government that delays payments . For local contractors to be paid they ask you to collect a letter from ZRA indicating how much you owing them with interests. Surly with this weak kwacha are you sure you here to help the locals. People have lost houses to the banks after borrowing money from the banks and the…

    • Thanks Bemba Man for exposing Lungus lies!

      This is the most chaotic and corrupt government Zambia has ever seen.

      No wonder Lungu closed The Post down. They would have published this, unlike ZNBC and government newspapers that just show stories about how wonderful everything is!

  13. Lundazi – Chama road is an eyesore, driving through it was like ‘is this in Zambia’?.
    PF government convinced the unpaid contractor to dump laterite soil at Lundazi hood winking Lundazi people for votes, end of story. Was told late Sata wanted to punish Lundazi people for not voting for him. Thought this was a joke but half way to Chama district, a brand new tarred road surprised me and agreed with what was told about late Sata’s hatred of Lundazi people. There is nothing to show up as many roads have remained stagnant for sometime now and contactors remain un paid. Nothing much will change in 2017 as new commitments will coincide with unfinished projects of before 2016.

    • Times of Zambia – Zambia: RDA Awards Contract for Chama-Lundazi Road (26th August 2016)
      By Julius Phiri
      The Road Development Agency (RDA) has awarded Sable Construction and China Civil Engineering Corporation a contract of tarring Chama-Lundazi Road under the Link Zambia 8,000 project.

      Sable Construction has been given more than 70 kilometres of the work while the Chinese contractor will tar the remaining portion of the road.

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