Minister of Infrastructure Housing and Urban Development has said that the Southern African Business Development Forum will invest over $3 billion for the eleven roads selected under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) road package dubbed the Western Trade Facilitation Routes, spanning four provinces – Copperbelt, North-Western, Western and Southern, and totalling over 2000km.
In a post on his Facebook page, the Minister said that the construction of the eleven roads selected under this PPP package will be solely financed by the Southern African Business Development Forum and that this bid was unsolicited as the investor brought in the idea and even selected the roads.
The agreement to construct the Livingstone -Katima Mulilo Road, Kasempa -Kaoma Road, Luampa Junction-Machile-Simungoma Road, Tapo-Kalabo-Sikongo-Angola Border Road, Kankolonkolo-Lufwanyama-Kasempa Road and Sioma -Shangombo Road, including an 8.5km bridge across the Kwando River at Shangombo boma, among others, will help facilitate international trade extending from the DRC up to Angola and Namibia.
Mr Milupi further said that the PPP agreement was signed on August 10, 2021 by the Office of the Vice President headed by Mrs. Inonge Wina at the time, adding that as earlier assured, the UPND government was deeply involved in establishing the ultimate cost of the PPP project to ensure it is quoted at the right price.
Mr Milupi said that it is true that discussions around the Western Trade Facilitation Routes PPP potential road project, started two days before the August 12, 2021 general election, and they are now at the technical contract stage with the selected bidder as announced by the RDA.
The Minister further said that these discussions will not be stopped just because they started under the previous government.
“This is not the only core road corridor available for interested entities to develop using the PPP Model. There are other such packages. Now that the PPP Council of Ministers has been re-constituted, be assured things will be more clearer in terms of how this PPP Model will work.
“But what will be fundamentally different under the New Dawn administration is, these discussions on PPP road projects will be carried out in a transparent manner, with the people being updated at every stage, and there will be sufficient due dilligence so that Zambians are not shortchanged in the process.
“Let me reassure you, fellow citizens, that your government will NOT borrow money for infrastructure development owing to the huge public debt. Mainly, we want to facilitate vital infrastructure development across the country through the Public-Private Partnership Model,” the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, Former Ambassador to Ethiopia Emmanuel Mwamba has described the Southern Africa Business Development Forum which will invest $3.7billion for the eleven roads selected under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) 2000km road package dubbed the Western Trade Facilitation Routes as a small NGO founded in 2017 and registered in South Africa.
According to Mr Mwamba SABDF defines itself as a Non-Profit Company incorporated in South-Africa, working towards the continent’s integration, especially the SADC region with strategic objective of enabling the SADC countries to stimulate economic development and increase their economic growth through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and Rural Development led expansion enabling poor smallholders to take advantage of the market opportunities.
Mr. Mwamba said that this is a $3.7billion project and a 25-year Concession on the charge of our road network that requires that we scrutinize this proposal closely and seek to understand the source of the money and that Zambia must place a stringent mechanism to ensure that if funds were secured, they would be spent on the construction of the said roads.
Mr Mwamba concluded by saying that, in his view, there are available financing institutions and established companies of good repute the Zambian government can engage to pursue public private partnerships projects and that NGOs should be kept out of the space.
There’s still no transparency. The information we’re looking for hasn’t been provided. I don’t know why Milupi has decided to mention Mama Inonge Wina when she’s retired. Is he trying to suggest that should we find anything wrong in the agreement then blame should be apportioned to her? That’s being silly. What we’re interested to know, among other things. is how this investor will recover their money and who’s involved in that institution. Is it through toll fees, at which rate and for how long? You’re responsible for everything that you’re doing. Have the courage to say so. If you’re cutting deals you’ll face the music on your own
Toll gates will be all the rage. Inzankala apa ndi apo…
This deal stinks and President HH needs to nix it into the fire fast and furious.
Walking the talk.
Magnanimous Govt,taking on previous regime projects.
About time DRC,ANGOLA AND NAMIBIA trade route was opened.
Well done Bo Milupi and PPP Council.
Happy new year .
The Angola-Zambia; Namibia-Zambia trade routes are untapped and they offer much more potential to open and unlock the country’s economy and extend it beyond the over reliance on Dar es Salaam and Durban ports. This is really good in my view and credit to both the PF and UPND govt for the goodwill to attract this investment. I don’t understand Mwamba’s argument that NGO should be locked out of business partnership with govt… do these guys just know how to yup?
Angola; Namibia and DRC trade routes are much better and offer better alternatives to Durban and Dar ports. They are much shorter; less busy and therefore offer better potential to those other routes we rely on.
There’s also so much potential with doing business with countries like Angola, for example petrol and cooking oil from Angola are much cheaper than those sold in Zambia. Also things like Maheu made in Zambia is lucrative business in Angola… these are just small scale typw of businesses that could benefit from such roads investment and improve the lives of the local people.
The potential is huge and I’m really excited about this investment and I hope it is realised sooner. We will talk about the quality and transparency as we are offered more details.
In case someone doesn’t know…we had the Benguela line which gave Zambia access to the Atlantic ocean. Wars in DRC and Angola put an end to this beautiful rail line.
these discussions will not be stopped just because they started under the previous government…… HOPE WHEN THINGS GO WRONG YOU WON’T WASH YOUR HANDS AND BLAME THE PF.
Mmmmmmmm!!!!! Smells a rotten deal . Which ZPPA procedure is this one that in 4months we have investors selected or chose herself impose it on us Zambians?
Ba politician you are just the same. The only difference is that you come at different times/term. How can you first foremost select such roads already you that their economic values does not in way outsmart lusaka/kasumbalesa Nakonde roads. Secondly who have you consulted as the nation to commit the nation to unknown organisations. Thirdly this is what you objectively claimed pF was doing and you would do it this way. Fourthly you are taking Zambia bankruptcy in terms of property. At the end of UPND in power Zambia will own nothing.
To us all Zambians, as patriotically advised by SC Sangwa let all be involved in the management of…
And this minister doesn’t realize this is called CORRUPTION?
This works out at 1.45 million per kilometer more expensive than the PF regime. Then I would rather you work out at achieving a certain amount of money that the company should earn. Suppose they recoup their investment in seven years do we still have to wait for twenty five years? In as much as we like the investment it must be at a reasonable cost to the Zambian taxpayers.
Yes, the Benguela railway line passes through DRC and served us well at the time but as correctly pointed out @8, wars both in Angola and DRC put paid to its use for us. It’s therefore only logical that we open up direct links to the Ports of Lobito downwards to Walvis Bay through the western corridor as suggested by the project mentioned above.
Any project in Western and Northwestern provinces will always face stiff opposition from the usual suspects. How is this project uneconomic when the majority of the 594 000 tonnes of copper from North Western province is routed on this hell run from Solwezi through to Kasempa, Kaoma, Mongu, Sesheke, Katima Mulilo and all the way to Walvis Bay? How many times is the so called Nakonde route to Dar es Sallaam going to be reworked and reworked. Let other regions have infrastructure too. They are part of Zambia. It’s been 60 years of neglect.
@Kopala It is $1.45 million per kilometre because the terrain requires bridges to be constructed on the routes.
Can’t they use another picture of this man? This one looks like he’s all his life in the Nkana Smelter.
#13 Francis, Milupi says that the project was initiated by PF so which suspects have you got in mind?
@Deja Vu I am referring to the usual suspects who always complain about proposed projects either in Northwestern or Western provinces. They always claim that the projects are too costly or uneconomic. Point in case is the Kalabo-Mongu road which they fiercily campaigned against and failed.There was no noise when Chipata-Mchinji rail line was announced. Equally for the two universities in the north or the $2.5 bn Serenje- Chipata rail link, there was quiet acceptance.
Southern, Western and North Western
So here is the deal fellow Zambians.
Upnd with the ACC under h²’s Government will have to steal and eat and enrich themselves before the final year of 2024.
So now they are supposedly doing more wrong than their predecessors. They just envied PF. Politician temunobe. But we warned you. Mulimbe.
#17. It is hard to understand that Zambia cannot have a well established road with it’s neighbor, Angola. This has to be fixed. It is not about North-Western and Western Province here. A road belongs to everyone. People from these two provinces have used the Kapili-Nakonde road to pick up cars in Dar. Equally people from EP, NP, Luapula, Muchinga and Kopala will use these roads to shorten distance between the Mines in NWP and Kopala and also shorten travel to LSK and get to Angola for trade. Don’t be myopic!
I think these are more wicked then pf…Road ati shani per Kilo meter! How much!
We want the whole country developed. Those who that it is because of the three provinces are short sighted. We need to have proper projects not by scammers. These chaps are too sloppy not to be swindled. They will fall into the net of scammers very easily because they are still underfives