18 Oct 2020

Botswana and Zambia are at an advanced stage of concluding legal instruments that  will enable the Kazungula bridge to be operational. 

This was said by Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Thulagano Segokgo at the final joint inspection of the project with Zambia Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development, Vincent Mwale on Saturday.

Minister Segokgo urged  stakeholders to complete all  outstanding minor works and necessary transitional together with commissioning activities so that the bridge facilities could be opened to the public as soon as possible.

  Construction of package one of the project, which is the bridge itself, is complete while the other two packages are expected to be concluded by the end of this month.

Mr Segokgo said the remaining two packages, the Botswana one-stop border post and its Zambian equivalent,  were at 99.97 and 99.99 per cent respectively.

He said the entire project had registered considerable progress which would lead to its commissioning by the two heads of state in the near future.

Mr Segokgo, who said Botswana attached great importance to its friendly relations with Zambia, described the project as a testimony to the ever-increasing scope and scale of cooperation which the two countries had enjoyed from time immemorial.

The minister said once operational, the bridge and its associated works would facilitate efficiency of trade and boost the regional economy as it would significantly reduce freight and passenger transit time as well as improve border management operations.

“This state-of-the-art infrastructure will among others facilitate quick access to international markets through connectivity with major seaports as well as contribute to maximizing the operational efficiency of the corridor and enhance regional economic integration,” he said.

Mr Segokgo said since  completion of the bridge had raised Batswana and Zambians’ expectations, the two governments must live up to the promise of ensuring the project relieved their plight.

“Our strategic partnership in the project should enhance development and competitiveness of our economies to improve the prospects of attracting more private sector investment and create the much needed jobs,” said Mr Segokgo.

Commenting, Mr Mwale said the joint implementation of the Kazungula bridge project had cemented the cordial relationship between Botswana and Zambia.

He said since the bridge was located at a point where Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia met, it would promote regional integration and trade in the SADC region.

Mr Mwale said the project was critical to development of the north-south corridor as it was a vital trade route for Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and South Africa. 

The Zambian government was keen to ensure the legacy project was operational as soon as possible since it a critical deliverable in realising his government’s vision of transforming Zambia from a landlocked to land-linked country. Ends