by Amos Chanda – SANF 05 no 40
Botswana and Zambia have decided to construct a multi-million dollar bridge that will link the two countries across the Zambezi river at Kazungula.
The Kazungula bridge is another milestone towards regional integration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa and President Festus Mogae of Botswana announced that construction of the bridge costing US$300 million will start as soon as the bidding process is completed and evaluated.
Gabaake Gabaake, Permanent Secretary in the Botswana Ministry of Works and Transport said after the submission of the tenders, the two countries and financiers will move fast to begin construction of the bridge.
The Kazungula Bridge is one of the projects SADC has taken to give practical effect to the vision of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). It was submitted to the NEPAD Secretariat three years ago.
The main objective of the bridge is to replace the unreliable ferry service between the two countries that suffers slow traffic clearance given the ferry’s limited carrying capacity.
The project has been held back because of problems in securing a financier. But the two presidents announced that Chinese and Japanese financiers have expressed interest in the project and that companies from both countries have submitted bids to participate in building the bridge.
The Kazungula Bridge twins with the Western Corridor Power (WESTCOR) project, another SADC NEPAD initiative that is expected to draw electricity from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the rest of the SADC region.
Based on a Build And Transfer (BAT) arrangement, the bridge will be owned jointly by the two countries once the investors recover their costs.
“Many companies from the two countries expressed interest in the project even before the tender was issued,” said Gabaake, adding that, “We have allowed the project to go ahead despite the border demarcation disputes that currently exist.”
On completion, experts say, the bridge will speed up traffic and help ease the import and export delays encountered at the border because of the outdated ferry being used. Two years ago, more than 15 people drowned in the Zambezi river when the ferry collapsed under the weight of a truck, causing nearly two weeks of traffic blockade as engineers worked to replace the ferry.
The bridge will be a major infrastructural development that will add to the recently constructed Katima Mulilo Bridge between Zambia and Namibia. Officially unveiled last year, the Katima Mulilo bridge has opened up a trading corridor and shortened the route for Zambian DRC exports and imports to and from the seaport in Namibia.
The lack of infrastructure is one of the biggest problems that increases the cost of doing business in the SADC region. Regional governments have therefore placed infrastructure development at the core of regional integration initiatives.
Zambian High Commissioner to Botswana, Cecil Holmes, says the benefits the bridge will bring go beyond the two countries involved, instead extending to the entire SADC region especially DRC, Namibia and South Africa.
So after inaugurating the Katima Mulilo bridge less than a year ago, SADC waits with excitement and optimism to toast another milestone towards deeper regional integration. (SARDC)
