Minister of Infrastructure, Urban and Housing Development, Charles Milupi has disclosed that works on the Ndola-Lusaka Dual-Carriage Way Road project will commence before August this year.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS Kitwe today, Mr. Milupi said the delay in the commencement of the project has been caused by the provisions of the laws under the Public-Private Partnership Act of 2021 with regard to financial closure.
The Minister said the provided period for the contractor to bring together their financiers to agree on the model of ensuring sustainable financing of the road project is six months.
He however said that there is a possibility that the works can even start earlier than that.
“We signed the contract, we are following the law, the law says when you sign the concession, you give the concessioner six months within which to reach financial closure, anything outside this is outside the law and we are a government of law, but we are on course,” he explained.
He stated that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project approach was a very good way of rehabilitating and upgrading the Lusaka-Ndola road although some people criticized the move.
The Minister said no person in the right state of mind would criticize the project model because the government has found a cheaper way of doing it compared to the cost that had been projected by the predecessor.
Mr Milupi said government wants to ensure that it improves the road Infrastructure in the country in the next four years.
Early this year, government signed a $577 million concession with Macro – Ocean Investment Consortium to work on the Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway.
Meanwhile, Copperbelt Minister Elisha Matambo has disclosed that government will work on the Chibuluma road before the end of this year.
Speaking during the Copperbelt Motor Show in Kitwe over the weekend, Mr. Matambo said government will work on all the major roads in the province this year.
He cited Mufulira Mukambo road, Ndola – Mufulira road, Chililabombwe – Kasumbalesa road and the Chingola – Chililabombwe road as some of the critical roads also earmarked to be worked on this year.
Early this year, government cancelled the Chibuluma road project citing unavailability of funds.
Very corrupt senile man. That is why he entered pact with fellow corrupt crook hh
The copperbelt is the economic pumping heart of the nation. It only follows that government looks after it with great care. The British coloniser took care of it like a golden egg. All those copperbelt roads you have mentioned must be urgently repaired. I will mobilize mufcane voters not to vote if Ndola road and even Mokambo roads aren’t repaired. It’s too much of waiting
This isn’t a PPP and that’s why you have challenges before it even takes off. It’s a bad. Free yourself from it otherwise you’ll end at Chimbokaila with others.
The Chibuluma road in Kitwe is not worthy to be called a road. It’s worse than those jungle trails we see in Tarzan movies.
By the way all the survey work were done a long time ago.
Mulipi when are you suing Mr Zulu! You told the nation that you were going to sue Mr Zulu it’s now almost three months..
Your predecessors borrowed and built roads including the flyover bridges in lusaka where you pass every day but you want to pretend that they borrowed and ate the money, shame on you. ECL never promised the zambians anything but he delivered massive projects. Look at KKIA and SMKIA. Your boss is flying all over the world from the same facilities without shame.