Thursday, March 28, 2024

A Brand New Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriege way would have cost less-Green Party

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President Edgar Chagwa Lungu during the at the Ground Breaking ceremony of Lusaka -Ndola Dual Carriageway in Lusaka on Friday
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu during the at the Ground Breaking ceremony of Lusaka -Ndola Dual Carriageway in Lusaka on Friday

The Green Party has said that the cost of constructing a brand new four lane highway from Lusaka to Ndola would have cost less than the figure that would be used to expand the current road to 4 lanes.

In a statement made available to the media yesterday, Party President Peter Sinkanmba said that the the shortest possible route to construct a brand new route is 296km which which would have cut the distance between Lusaka and Ndola by 20km, adding that the cost of constructing a brand new 296km four lane highway from Lusaka to Ndola would have been about $1.11 billion.

Mr Sinkamba further said that his party would have installed or constructed toll-gates on the new road and left the old roade as an optional route where travellers without resources would use paying no toll-gates to drive along.

Below is the full statement

THE LUSAKA-NDOLA DUAL CARRIAGE PROJECT LAUNCHED BY PRESIDENT LUNGU IS AN EXPENSIVE AGONIZING MODEL

LUSAKA NDOLA DUAL CARRIAGE HIGHWAY_GREEN PARTY MODEL

Yesterday, President Edgar Lungu launched the construction of a dual carriage road from Lusaka to Ndola. Our considered view as the Green Party is that the model adopted by the PF Government is not only an expensive but also a seriously agonizing model which should not have contemplated in the first place.

The cost of constructing a new 2-lane undivided road is between $2 million to $3 million per 1.6km in rural areas and between $3 million to $5 million in urban areas. The distance from Lusaka to Ndola using routes T2 and T3, or in other words the Great North Road up to Kapiri and the Kapiri-Ndola road is about 316km. The cost of constructing a 2-lane undivided road between Lusaka and Ndola using the T2 and T3 road therefore costs about $1.185 billion since the urban factor is insignificant. This is the option that the PF Government has decided to run with and have since borrowed $1.2 billion for the project launched yesterday by President Edgar Lungu.

However, the cost of constructing a new 4-lane highway is between $4 million to $6 million per 1.6 km in rural and suburban areas, $8 million to $10 million in urban areas. The shortest possible route to construct a brand new route is 296km which thereby cuts the distance between Lusaka and Ndola by 20km.

In this regard, the cost of constructing a brand new 296km four lane highway from Lusaka to Ndola costs about $1.11 billion. This is not only cheaper but most convenient option which the Green Party would have run with, if in government. This means for less the amount the PF Government has set aside for the 2-lane road, the Green Party would have built a brand new four lane highway. Further, this would have been the road on which the Green Party would have installed or constructed toll-gates. The Greens would have left the existing T2-T3 route as an optional route where travellers without resources would use paying no toll-gates to drive along.

Drawing from the lessons of Kitwe-Chingola road upgrade from 2-lane to dual carriage, where it has taken over five years to construct a 45km road, and the on-going activities around Kabangwe-SOS road stretch, we shudder to see the agony and prolonged inconvenience road user will have to endure on the construction of the 2-lane 316km road using the PF model.

Perhaps, it is high time that the PF Government started to copy some of our models. It is not too late yet for Government to adopt our cheaper, sustainable and obviously the best option of the two models.

Peter Sinkamba
President
Green Party of Zambia

72 COMMENTS

  1. Green Party and anyone who condones this statement are talking and thinking from their backside.

    This will save lives knowing how many lives we have lost on the road. That alone should supersede any costs that you would never have seen when saved.

    Do I Have everyone’s attention now ?

    Thanks

    BB2014,2016

    • Ba Sinkamba, what you’re suggesting is good, but did you do a feasibility study of the area you’ve drawn that line on to find out whether it is free of farms, houses e.t.c? Supposing there are farms or houses on that line you’ve drawn, don’t you think the cost would come to the same or even more when we factor in the issue of compensating owners of farms and houses?

    • Lungu can commission anything even a masturbating chicken just to have his name written as “President of the Republic of Zambia”. That is all he needs recognition engraved in stone. This is not about the road but Lungu’s name engraved in stone. This road cost is a sham.

      Ba Sebenza, There is nothing of the sort. Even destroying the whole town to pave way for a road would not cost that much. Even when there were 10 properties worth 3 million dollars each, along the way the cost would not reach close to this tag. This is daylight robbery. Retirement money for Lungu and his minions.

  2. Ba Greet Party, please consider long term costs maintaining six lanes, not even Europe or South Africa could afford them.

    • This is why we shall remain poor,we don’t question things and we readily condemn those who ask for answers. We even come up with reasons that don’t make sense as to why a government is spending astronomical sums of money on a road. That money is for construction and not long term maintenance!!

  3. Straight line roads without diversions and bends areally boring to drive on imwe ba Green party. ECL. Example is Mongu Road too boring

    • If you want sightseeing buy a horse…have you ever driven on the M1 or Germany Autoban …who wants to sightseeing when you are doing 120KPh its no wonder you are involved in head on collisions!!

  4. Yesterday Chitotela Said The Cost Of The Road Depends With The Flow Of Traffic. How Logical Is That?

    S.Africa And Botswana Pay $400,000 For Their Roads. But They Are Very Good. Us We Pay $1 million+ For Substandard, Razor Roads That Develop Cracks And Potholes In Less Than 5yrs.

    • Stop misleading people
      $1.6m is standard for single carriageway, multiply by 2 to dual and you have $3.2m as international standard.

      Also the length is 366km Sir and not your lie here, factored into $1.2bn and you have $1.64m per km as the cost of the dual carriage

  5. Atleast GREEN party provides alternatives and options to the government not the UNDER 5 clinic cards in the name of UPND. They are anarchists looking for opportunities to denounce the govenment without giving out any alternatives. Keep it up GREEN party

    • UPND is dead under HH! If only some people can wake up! There are three people you can’t advise: Arsenal fan, a follower of a false prophet and a UPND / PF cadre! UPND must go for a convention and change leaders. No democracy, no power! Same with PF, no democracy, no power in 2021. This dual road is a fraud! Mutati was against this debt contraction. That is what led to countrywide ECL sponsored protests. Why have the protests died down following the ground breaking ceremony? They are not doing this dual because they care. It is simply time to steal big!

  6. That makes a lot of sense, the weed of the green party must be good weed.

    But PF and the Chinese will not let Zambians travel for free, they are out to tax and squeeze every last ngwee out of you for using their roads even though you pay road tax…

    • What are taxes paid used for ? To make lungu and PF rich ? We want accountability not free things…..you can’t be taxing people double with accounting where you take the first round of taxes

    • You think in the developed countries they have toll roads and do not pay taxes? You have developed a culture of just criticizing anything govt and ECL even without thinking.

    • Which developed country have you been to that has toll gates on every new highway ???

      Infact toll gates are only used upuntill the money of the road is recoupt and there is always an alternative for poorer motorists who can pay toll fees

    • This blind support for taxes without demanding accountability is what feeds corruption.. …you hear of ministers becoming millionaires overnight while people can not explain where money collected from taxes goes while we people clapping and dancing at any announcement of borrowing and taxing Zambians more….

  7. “would have”, “could have”, “if in government” .. conditionals don’t work.

    “Sembe” si yi sebenza. The funds are already available so just support the option at hand. Everyone will greatly benefit from this construction.

    • You might want to learn when to use single quotation and double quotation in a sentence, when you are quoting something. By the way you have used it, you probably think there is no difference and boy there is. Ukutontokanya muchibemba ba chale lol.
      Belengeni ko difference mukwai.

    • @Nine Chale – with mindsets like yours its no wonder we are wallowing in poverty and selling our children, grandchildren into slavery…I can assure you this will be replicated by Lazy Lungu in another project near you. This is the moron who has bought 2000 hammers from China under the Presidential Initiative…there is one very rich Chinaman laughing at our stupidity right now!!

    • @9.1 & 9.3 If you expected an analysis that’s been carefully thought through and written in perfect English, you should have probably ignored my comment. I’m neither a civil engineer nor a Professr of English language.
      I get full contentment by speaking my mind, not by personal gratification.

  8. Just from driving on Kafue Mazabuka road. I wonder why Changwa and team are not paying attention to this death trap. Yes we need duals but we need to set our priorities right! I wonder if it’s only UPND members who drive on this road. This is the same road that carries our Copper. Much as we want a dual, the GNR is not as bad as this stretch. Can someone do something please!

    • That includes Mazabuka to Monze stretch! Technically worse off from the GN road!. Could this be the loan Mutati was trying to defer for which he got PF protests? Is this the nashako ukuboo SG Mwila meant? It won’t be surprising if someone has pocketed 10% of the total project cost. Sad!

  9. He’s right. Make the new road a highway and toll it. Leave the old road for those who cant pay and those travelling relatively short distances and sikolokolos

    • Knowing the culture of Zambians – everyone will want to drive for free, and then there will be a lot of accidents on the old road which will also be perpetually in bad state.

  10. @3.1: All land in Zambia belongs to the State. We just lease it. The law provides that the State has a right of wayleave or easement access in case of public interest for no compensation. The law only provides for compensation for structures and crops. From model presented, it appears to me that the Green Party has factored in compensation hence a new 2-lane undivided road is estimated to cost between $2 million to $3 million in rural areas and between $3 million to $5 million in urban areas. Besides, the land in question is a legacy of colonial occupiers and their grandchildren are now busy sub-dividing and selling to Zimbabwean white farmers chased by Mugabe. Why shouldn’t we use it for pubic interest projects

    • The savings are insignificant considering the diversions. I would prefer Kabwe and Kapiri are on the highway, save for slight diversions around the towns.

  11. @12 Zambia in the sun, don’t mislead innocent Zambians. If the parties fail to agree a compensation package and it is a project in the national interest, the government can compulsorily acquire the land and compensation is still paid but on the terms set by government. That is the established standard.

  12. His cost reduction still doesn’t make sense…, a $0.1 billion reduction won’t make any difference.

    The point is the cost of this road is exorbitant and it is nothing but pure robbery. This sounds like the Bank gave out a loan, and colluded with the construction company to just spit out a value without any justification whatsoever. No mountainous rocky terrain to cut through, just a few shrubs and grass; cheap materials from China and cheap labour all around, this is daylight robbery and I’m surprised docile Zambians think this is normal. There is no difficult design that has to be thought through and invested into to justify the cost, so someone tell me what would cost more to justify this extortion.

    These Chinese dudes will bring cheap material and equipment from China and…

    • continued…

      These Chinese dudes will bring cheap material and equipment from China and they will hire local labour, then why should such a short distance road on a flat terrain cost so much? Google national highways around the globe and see how much they cost to build. Zambians please wake up for once and demand some answers.

  13. Cant comment much on the Greens costing model unless I see the cost elements and the terrain, rivers, mountainscetc apart from farms and buildings. But I see that what they call the PF model attempts to serve the existing population and farming centres as well, I see that the road veers into Chibombo/Landless area for example which is not a bad idea. I dont think by saving ka 20km can lower the cost so much, also redoing the existing stretch as tge other two kanes can be cheaper because tge land is already cleared and the ecisting base ofvthe road is already stabilised to a large extent. You will also save forests and the environment by reusing an existing corridor.. ETC ETC ETC ETC.

  14. RDA should strictly monitor to ROAD design and ensure the consultant already on site is well supervised also to avoid compromise to standards and avoid variations to plan

    Already some portions on Kabangwe to 10 miles Coring (below 150 MM) is poor and the shoulders of the road crumbling Some sections can surely be seen not to be straight on edge and this should be supervised and reviewed before accepting those portions

    Its good Road project, this Lusaka Ndola dual of importance and Good Project Contracting company but what will count is how the project will be managed to best standard and deliver a road of quality that will provide…

    • Really laughable …RDA of today is fillled to the rafters with crooks and cadres, you are requesting a monkey to keep the keys to the maize silos!!

  15. that will provide ROE for the life time An alternative rail track simultaneously along will not be bad

    let RDA up supervision of both its engaged consultant and the project company to ensure up to standard and at cost

  16. Then there is no presence of CEE 20% Zambian enable already on the road so far Its not clear whether they have been engaged not through single sourcing and citizen enable by way of guarantee of advance payments in the 20% by CEE or should it be simple not quality Jobs contracted of insignificant value to the USD 1 Billion

    Its pointless also to award to locals when not capacity even with a simple tool like a shovel or hummer so the CEE model in terms of projects financing CEE enabled should change and be practically implemented side by side with well machined Chinese’s Contractors Not subcontracted then those Subcontract Chinese also…

  17. Like I stated 2 days ago this road is grossly overpriced…Peter Sinkanmba has suggested incorporating Toll roads which is a brilliant idea as the funds raised could go to service this debt. This again is further evidence of these Lazy empty tins rushing recklessly to sign the dotted line at China Bank without thinking things through for the best option. I wonder if Zambian Engineers are involved in these feasibility studies or its the selfsame people giving the loan who do it. With Peter Sinkanmba plan I bet you if you went if you to the Global market a Global construction company would have taken up the offer at half the costs provided they have a stake in managing the Toll Gates.
    I think the project costs would have been greatly reduced if machinery was given priority in the contract.

  18. You need to have also made progress on long-term capacity try to mix purchasing buses for youths with the Financing from 20% Chinese’s CEEC to guarantee purchase of projects machinery USING DBZ for those Chinese advances since you may be lacking in Projects finances Try to Buy corn force making machines for 20000 USD and make people supply to these projects ,small machinery like JCBs crasher batch plants in line with the role out of these projects ,guarantee those 20% CEEC subcontracted to locals and try over a period of time to move it to 30% 40% as you capacitate for new roads and rehab of new and other infrastructure People need move from doing drainages…

  19. to tooling the road ad maybe the Chinese as supervising Consultants like and associates this eventually must be also

    Aside though the dual carriage way should be finished on time and budget and should realise value chains and make a ROE

    One would hope that road is completed by 2021 and never after It will be a foregone conclusion politically and economically for Lusaka central and copper belt transiting population if the target completion is not met There should be no room for excuses as it will be costly

  20. One hopes also like we observed at feasibility that there is a firm DISIGN PLAN for the ROAD not ONLY the artistic impression to clearly assign responsibilities and account the project supervising engineer and allay the fairs from the write up above and take in the concerns If time and money may be a constraint a phased out approach Lusaka to Ndola with different contractors for expediency would still achieve the same over the years but since its signed let it be finished in 2021

  21. He who can does and he who cannot teaches. Don’t be distracted by the PhD syndrome. How do we wait for the greens to come out of jungle to construct the road. We need it yesterday. Other than saying our ideas as greens why not bring the same as our idea as Zambians else we will wait forever for the road to be constructed. Perhaps the greens should have also shared with us their strategic plan when they are sure they will form government so we know when we will have the road done.

  22. Its dual meaning how many roads either side to Ndola from Lusaka Get the design from RDA and read May be they do it better through the public disclosure in the media like they do the zema to allay any issues

  23. Mr. President of Green Party of Zambia
    You left some other cost on your methodology- Compensation of farmers, commercial properties and residential properties. Especially between Kabwe and Lusaka where they are major difference with PF model. I hope Zambeef will not be affected with your model.

  24. Mwagona ma Donkey?
    @16.1 Jay Jay reveals and reminds us why GBM has never acted as president whenever his boss underfive is away: Jay Jay likens it to giving a monkey the keys to the maize silo…..Kikikiki..mwati visasila vau bemba monkey mu UPNDonkeys?…..kikikiki..so why make GBM a monkey vice president then?

  25. Green Party should demonstrate its greenness in all its thinking. Your suggestion is not environmwentally sound. More land will be opened up, more ecosystems disrupted, flora and fauna defiled. Is it worth the se?vings?

  26. $2 billion for a dual carriage way is way too extortionate considering all the main materials can be sourced locally. Our government through road development agency can setup a highway engineering company which can tap into expert knowledge in road building by galvanizing available resources and materials. Zambia has some of the biggest players in the mining sector in the world with the potential to utilize their engineering expertise in road and rail. This is why we get short changed every time you offer these contracts to companies who include the cost of importing materials which are readily available in the country. You recall when constructing the stadiums, we were told that the cement had to be imported from China because we had the wrong type of cement in Zambia. China and Europe…

  27. …are busy taking our raw materials, sending them back to their countries to add value and then exporting them back to us. How ridiculous.

  28. UPND is dead under HH! If only some people can wake up! There are three people you can’t advise: Arsenal fan, a follower of a false prophet and a UPND / PF cadre! UPND must go for a convention and change leaders. No democracy, no power! Same with PF, no democracy, no power in 2021. This dual road is a fraud! Mutati was against this debt contraction. That is what led to countrywide ECL sponsored protests. Why have the protests died down following the ground breaking ceremony? They are not doing this dual because they care. It is simply time to steal big! Open your eyes Zambians. PF uses truth and error to deceive!

  29. The dual highway does not have to pass right through towns, hence not necessarily shorter. The terrain also has to be considered and therefore a straight line in road construction is not the most economical. A robust well engineered 4 lane highway with branches to the towns is what is needed from Livingstone to Solwezi. Green party should provide their suggestion and discuss with relevant offices and not use them for politicking.

  30. If making a road was that easy everyone would have invested in road construction.
    Ba Sinkamba did you put into consideration all the parameters needed when it comes to road construction? One them been the radius of curves, banking etc for you to come up with such a simple straight line.

  31. What does Peter Sikamba know apart from growing weed? Road construction needs people with high intellectual capacity not bena Sikamba and Muliokela whose occupation is day dreaming after smoking good weed.

  32. Lindiwe, if you did social studies in secondary you wouldn’t say that, it clearly shows how ignorant you are in the field you pretend to be blaming those with good ideas.
    Cecil Rhodes first thought was to construct a railway from Cape to Cairo the moment he came to Africa, by then all the mines were in their infancy some were still under exploration, in short Africa was not developed the way it is now. But he thought of transport system of been cardinal knowing that it will be required to transport whatever was going to be mined or farmed.
    If you are not a technocrat better zip up your mouth rather than show your ignorance.
    Even the basics taught in our schools consider transport as one of the major aspects of commence, so even the secondary school going kids are laughing at your…

  33. Two major things you are all forgetting: (i) PF will need campaign money, so this project offers a conduit for that; (ii) Politicians know the correct things to do, they are advised by technocrats; but they add the “political factors” of plunder and day light robbery.

  34. The road has a positive ERR if you look at it rightly SEE The regional economics of the areas especially along the road both before and after the road is constructed You should see the increase in economics for the region (GDP growth) One would have thought the roads should have been second or first in ranking to Mongu Kalabo

    There is generally expected to be increase in agricultural produce and delivery to the markets and value firms around
    You need to see the road and assess the regional GDP with or without the project including the incremental GDP resulting

    In terms of the cost of the road one would need to see the design of the road and what would be along…

  35. the road Does is it with come with bus stations along e.g at Chsimba Chibombo,Kapiri or Kabwe and Ndola What type of road composition is it You may go on to look at the time. Vehicle operating costs after and before

    Looking at the ERR of the road its a plus one would hope it was ranked 1st

    The worry though should be in the cost escalation and avoid further hiking of the price above the awarded

    The quality of supervision must be higher as those politics will not count if completion is not achieved by completion date The door will be the case So better achieve and complete or phase it //

  36. @ HaJayJay #3.1, you too have several head collisions in your head/brain! And his friend HaSpaka like lilo, For they are Ba mental!

  37. President Lungu’s Govt should vigorously construct a network of roads internally and major roads, waterways (on Mweru & Tanganyika) and railway lines to link Zambia with Angola, Botswana, Congo DR, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and the Great Lakes States. This country can be transformed into a hub of transport networks in Southern Africa. Such massive developments will offset some imperialist-funded NUMSA from poking their noses in the affairs of this peaceful country.

  38. 42 Mwansa Kabinga – that is why ECL should continue until 2026. as for this topic all of you stop repeating the same things all your contributions will be considered. But Mr. Sinkamba how possible is your suggestion since works have already been commissioned?

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