Construction of Kazungula bridge halts again

 Zambia has once more failed to pay the company constructing the Kazungula Bridge, a project that crosses the Zambezi River and borders Botswana and Zambia.

The contractor, Daewoo E&C has complained that despite numerous requests for money to complete the bridge, there has been no response.

The contractor fears that, given that Zambia has failed to pay back Eurobonds, chances of being paid are bleak

The construction has therefore been halted once more.

Source: No funding, Construction of Kazungula bridge halts again (09/12/20)

Kazungula Bridge boosts Bots tourism

 Harare - The opening of Kazungula Bridge will boost tourist arrivals into Botswana’s tourism mecca of Kasane, the country’s Tourism Minister Philda Kereng has said.

The bridge straddles the Zambezi River at Kazungula Crossing where Botswana and Zambia share a border, and also stretches over the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe rivers where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet.

The 923m and US$259 million bridge is part of a broader infrastructure initiative that will ultimately connect the Port of Durban in South Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Botswana’s Environment, Natural Resources, Conservation and Tourism Minister Kereng said the bridge is expected to open to traffic this year.

The gateway to Chobe National Park, Kasane spreads out along the banks of the Chobe River where an array of hotels, guest houses and campsites can accommodate all the visitors to the world-renowned facility.

“This bridge has recently been handed over by the contractors, it is complete. It is a bridge that is quite a milestone for the economy of Botswana and for the tourism industry,” Minister Kereng said after touring the bridge last week.

“We appreciate this bridge very much especially at this point where we are diversifying tourism, Kasane becomes a much more diversified location or tourist destination. Also for tourists, when you go to London (England) for instance, you have the London Bridge and all these big rivers with nice bridges they are tourist attractions on their own so we are looking at this beautiful bridge and saying it is going to interest our tourists after seeing the animals there is also something else they can see. It will be able to enhance the face of Kasane.”

Minister Kereng went on: “We are also informed that this bridge is well blended into the ecosystem, the environment of Chobe. There is a railway line that has been incorporated into the bridge, and the interesting part is that this bridge has incorporated features that are friendly to the environment, we hear that there is a breeding place for hippos near the bridge and the rubber that has been used around the railway is going to absorb all the sound that would otherwise disturb the animals.”

Botswana recently allowed the resumption of chartered flights into the country's prime tourist destinations, in an attempt to boost the tourism sector which has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chartered flights are being allowed to land at two airports in Maun and Kasane, both in the vicinity of the vast Okavango Delta, one of the world’s largest wetlands.

Tourism contributes around 13 percent to the So/uthern African country’s GDP./

Source: Kazungula Bridge boosts Bots tourism (28/11/20)

Daewoo E&C Completes Construction of Kazungula Bridge in Botswana

 Daewoo Engineering & Construction (E&C) has completed Kazungula Bridge over the Zambezi River in Botswana, Africa.

Daewoo E&C said on Oct. 8 that it received a taking-over certificate from the Botswanan and Zambian governments on Sept. 5, along with a certificate of 10 million accident-free hours.

The bridge is the first extradosed bridge construction project that Daewoo E&C won overseas in 2014.

Kazungula Bridge is a 923-meter-long, 18.5-meter-wide extradosed bridge with a 687-meter-long access road and a 2,170-meter-long single-track railway. The bridge is expected to improve the transportation and logistics infrastructure around the region.

As Kazungula Bridge is a bridge with a railway and a road, the safety of the bridge itself significantly matters. Therefore, an extradosed bridge model was applied to it as it can widen distances between piers and has an advantage in vibration control.

An extradosed bridge is a bridge where a girder-reinforcing cable is attached to the main tower like the cable of a cable-stayed bridge. The exterior of an extradosed bridge looks like a cable-stayed bridge. But the height of its tower is lower than that of a cable-stayed bridge so the cable plays a relatively small role in buttressing the upper layer of the bridge. Therefore, the upper layer should be designed to be stronger.

An extradosed bridge is structurally more advantageous than a cable-stayed bridge as a railway bridge.

Kazungula Bridge has six main towers standing in a row, which provides a fine view. It is expected to become a landmark in the region.

Source: Daewoo E&C Completes Construction of Kazungula Bridge in Botswana (08/10/20)

Zimbabwe considers financial implications of Kazungula Bridge

Zimbabwe is evaluating the financial implications following its integration into the Kazungula Bridge, transport minister Joel Matiza has said.

Zimbabwe and Namibia were roped into Kazungula Bridge Project in in 2018 as equity partners to help boost construction of the project.

The 750-metre bridge at Kazungula crossing over the Zambezi River  is being constructed at the confluence of Zambezi and Chobe rivers, the meeting point of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Mr Matiza told a regional summit last week that Zimbabwe was in the process of counting the cost of the project.

“We are currently doing computations of the cost of the project and later present it to the cabinet for approval to allow us proceed with the project,” said Mr Matiza.

Once completed, the Kazungula Bridge is expected to facilitate seamless trade within the SADC region.

But the US$294-million project, touted as one of the major SADC economic integration success stories, has been experiencing delays partly due to lack of finance.

Source: Zimbabwe considers financial implications of Kazungula Bridge (16/03/20)

Zambia, Botswana to construct railway across Zambezi

Zambia and Botswana have signed a US $259m agreement to construct a 430km long railway to link the two countries across the Kazungula Bridge.

Zambia Railways Ltd and Botswana Railways’ boards resolved during a meeting held in Kasane to facilitate the construction of the lengthy line and a show of cooperation. According to Zambia Railways board chairperson Lubinda Linyama, construction of the project scheduled to begin soon after the 900-metre-long Kazungula bridge is completed and commissioned by June next year.

The railway project  dubbed, “Mosetse-Kazungula-Livingstone”, is aimed to reduce transit time and transportation costs for both the people and boost trade trade in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The actual cost of the project will be established after undertaking a feasibility study.

“The project was proven feasible and as a quicker means of  transporting  goods and passengers in addition to roads to ease transportation problems and once completed will benefit all other countries in the 16-country-member region and bolster trade in real time,” said Mr. Lubinda.

“Zambia is up to date with its financial obligations for the construction of the Kazungula bridge which we are co- financing with Botswana to accelerate its completion,” he added.

Linyama also allayed fears that the bridge would not be complete in due course following rescheduling of the completion timetable but assured that the two countries were determined to ensure the project was completed as planned despite challenges faced in recent months.

“We are determined to undertake this (railway line) project despite the challenges that may arise.” said the board chairperson.

Source: Zambia, Botswana to construct railway across Zambezi (30/07/19)

Kazungula Bridge to Cut Traveller's Nightmares

Like most travellers particularly between Zambia and Botswana I have always found crossing the Zambezi River by pontoon at Kazungula a terrifying experience because of many accidents in which hundreds of people, including former Southern Province Minister Maimbolwa Sakubita, lost their lives when the pontoon capsised in the 1970s.

Not only that about 15 more people mostly Zambians that included women and children perished when a South African heavy-duty truck tipped over, throwing passengers on board the pontoon into the crocodile-infested and fast-flowing Zambezi River some years later.

For the commercial transporter inordinate delays at Kazungula border crossing, where vehicles ferrying cargo to and from various countries in the region and beyond, are and could be marooned for days if not weeks, translate into huge financial losses and turn-around times.

While the adventurous tourist may often find crossing by pontoon pleasurable, the not-so-brave traveller is forced to cross the river by using the Livingstone-Victoria Falls Town (Zimbabwe)-Kazungula-Kasane route or Lusaka-Chirundu-Harare route and vice-versa.

So every stakeholder was elated in 2005 when it was announced that the Zambian and Botswana governments had agreed to jointly construct a permanent bridge to link the two countries.

Following the announcement I filed a news story from Gaborone and sent it to the late Human Rights Commissioner Arnold Kapelembi (who was still the News Editor at the time I left the Times of Zambia newspaper in 1992) in his elevated capacity as Times Printpak Managing Director) based in Lusaka.

Titled 'Botswana, Zambia agree to build Kazugula bridge' the report, which I reproduce here for the benefit of readers of this column, said:

'Good news to all Kazungula pontoon users - the Botswana and Zambian governments have finally agreed to construct a permanent bridge across the Zambezi/Chobe Rivers to link the two SADC countries.'

It went on: 'Inviting tenders for the project, which is regarded as a giant leap forward and a stimulus to regional economic integration, the Zambia National Tender Board (ZNTB) says the two governments have agreed to promote 'free and unobstructed movement of both cargo and people by 'providing an appropriate bridge structure across the Zambezi River and border control facilities at Kazungula border between the two countries.

Viewed by regional watchers as probably Africa's first step on the road to hosting, for the first time, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010, the governments of Zambia and Botswana, through the Ministry of Works and Supply (Zambia) and the Ministry of Works and Transport (Botswana) have approved the development of the bridge project using Build-Operate Transfer (BOT) method.

ZNTB says BOT is one of the modern methods of financing and administering public infrastructure services through Public-Private Partnership initiatives (PPPs). According to ZNTB advertisement (which appeared) in the government-owned Botswana Daily News, this method has been successfully used in developed countries and some parts of Africa.

As a result, the Ministry of Works and Supply, for Zambia, and Works and Transport, for Botswana, intend to carry out design and construction of the following structures at Kazungula:

Road bridge, approximately 800m, and approach roads with high embankments at bridge approaches; and Border control facilities.

ZNTB, on behalf of the Ministry of Works and Supply, for Zambia, and Works and Transport (Botswana) 'now invites eligible consortiums' having proven track record in similar works involving modern techniques to submit their 'express interest'.

The consortium would normally comprise financial institutions, engineers, construction experts, and qualified/experienced concession operators. It says successful BOT bidders will be expected to carry out intensive technical and financial studies in collaboration with the ministries of the two countries, who are the executing agencies,' the article concluded.

However, the project ran into unexpected difficulties when Zimbabwe, which was reeling under economic sanctions imposed by most Western countries (following the controversial 2007 presidential election run-off that President Robert Mugabe won against MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai) but on whose territory part of the Bridge Project was to be constructed, objected unless Harare was guaranteed a stake as one of the major participating countries.

The project was further delayed by 2008 political changes that took place in the two principal cooperating countries - Botswana saw the retirement of President Festus Mogae and accession to power of Lieutenant-General Seretse Khama Ian Khama; and in Zambia - the death of President Levy Mwanawasa and his replacement by former vice president Rupiah Banda.

Although both governments remained stoutly committed to getting the project off the ground, progress was slow in that in Zambia president Banda, who had been elected to finish off Dr Mwanawasa's two years of his five-year term, lost his bid for what would have become his first five-year term to President Michael Sata whose Patriotic Front (PF) scooped the 2011 general election.

The project suffered another setback as President Sata, who initiated unprecedented infrastructural development projects across the country, died in November 2014 - and like Dr Mwanawasa - after only three years in office. But before his demise in a London hospital he had been receiving treatment, however, President Sata and Lt. Gen Khama had dispatched their respective Vice presidents Dr Guy Scott and Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe (who has since retired) to Kazungula for the ground-breaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of the road and rail bridge in August, 2014.

This was after the project had gone through tender and three companies out of the 26 that had expressed interest had been short-listed in March to undertake construction works. The companies were China Major Bridge Engineering Corporation, Shimizu- Stefanuti Joint Venture and Daewoo E & R of South Korea. A South African bidding company that felt marginalised, if my recollection is correct, protested prompting some would-be sponsors to threaten pulling out.

So, the arrival on the scene of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was greeted with a great sigh of relief by government officials, transporters and travellers like myself because their move ensured that the US $60 million financing gap that the project faced would no longer be a hindrance.

I do recall that upon his return to Gaborone, former Lusaka-based civil engineer Herbert Murray, who, according to him, was among the engineers that were pivotal in the construction of the Ndola-Kitwe Dual Carriageway in the 80s, told me he was in Kasane on private business when the Botswana-Zambia Joint Steering Committee met in the tourist resort town, to tie up a few loose ends.

Zambian officials had indicated that their target date for commissioning of the project that should benefit rural communities in senior chiefs Sekute's and Mukuni's chiefdoms, was August 13, 2014.

The bridge across the Zambezi River at the point where the borders of Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia meet has been the vital missing link on Sub-Saharan Africa's North-South Trade Corridor.

The plan is for the construction of a 923-metre long and 18.5-metre wide bridge with provisions for both rail and road transport. Two one-stop border facilities-one at each end - and access roads will also be built at an estimated total cost of US$259 million, according to initial estimates.

When he visited Zambia at the end of June last year AfDB president Dr Kaberuka pledged that his financial lending institution would work closely with the Botswana and Zambian governments to accelerate construction and that his bank would also accelerate financing procedures because the project was not only important to the economies of Zambia and Botswana but to Africa as a whole.

Source: Kazungula Bridge to Cut Traveller's Nightmares (22/08/15)

Kazungula Bridge construction starts

CONSTRUCTION of the multi-million dollar Kazungula Bridge across the Zambezi River has started with the laying of a temporary bridge.
The US$259.3 million bridge is being undertaken by Zambia and Botswana with financial assistance from Japan International Co-operation Agencyand the African Development Bank.
In an interview, Kazungula District Commissioner Pascalina Musokowane said the project is on course and that construction work will take four years.
“The contractor [Deawoo Engineering and Construction of South Korea] is already on site and has so far employed 300 workers from both Zambia and Botswana.
“There is another company on board supplying fuel to the contractor which has also employed local people,” she said.


Ms Musokotwane said the bridge will facilitate effective trade with Botswana and other Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries through reduced transit time for freight and passengers.
She said the project, which has been in the making for over a decade, will transform the economy of not only Kazungula district but the country, too.


She said the pontoons currently being used on the Zambezi River are inadequate to meet the increased traffic demand.


“The project will facilitate quick movement of products within the region, create jobs and increase opportunities for intra- and regional trade activities,” she said.


Ms Musokotwane said the 923 metres long railway and road-bridge will also have two `one-stop border posts’ on either side of the bridge in Zambia and Botswana.


She said the contractor is working on construction of access and approach roads to the bridge and the one-stop border facility.


“The tender for the construction of the one stop border facility to house the Immigration department and Zambia Revenue Authority offices has been awarded. The contractor has started mobilisation,” she said.


She said there is increased activity in the area, which has resulted in job creation.


She cited construction of the Kazungula district hospital, which is nearing completion, a police station, Natsave bank, a post office, administrative office for civil servants and housing units as some of the on-going infrastructure projects in the district.

Source: Kazungula Bridge construction starts (11/08/15)

Zambia's VP calls to expedite bridge construction

Zambian Vice-President Guy Scott has directed the contractor working on the US$259.3 Kazungula Bridge to expedite the process since the projecthas been on the drawing board for more than 10 years.
Dr Scott appealed to the contractor, Daewoo Engineering and Construction, including the supervising engineers, to ensure that the project was delivered within the planned timeframe and cost.
Dr Scott was speaking yesterday during the ground-breaking ceremony of the bridge where he, flanked by his Botswana counterpart Ponatshego Kedikilwe, officiated at the ceremony on the Botswana side of the Kazungula border.
The project will be undertaken by the governments of Zambia and Botswana with financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Dr Scott said the project would create jobs, facilitate movement of products within the region, including agricultural inputs and mining equipment, and increase opportunities for intra and regional trade activities.
He also said the project would reduce the transit time from 36 hours to two hours and reduce transportation costs and the cost of doing business in general and, ultimately, increase revenue for the two countries. “The two peoples of Botswana and Zambia have waited for this project for this long and some imagined that this day would come in their life-time. The two governments are equally delighted that the long-awaited project is finally taking off today,” Dr Scott said.
He said the Kazungula route had become increasingly popular to transporters shipping freight between the major ports of South Africa to and from Lusaka, the mining towns of northern Zambia and the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Dr Scott said the current border facilities on both sides of Botswana and Zambia were inadequate as only 30 trucks could be ferried in each direction in a day.
Dr Kedikilwe urged the ministries of Transport in the two countries to remain diligent in their work and guard against unnecessary cost escalations during construction.
He also urged the two ministries to exercise professionalism to avoid delays and unnecessary litigations, saying people’s expectations on the project were very high.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) resident representative Atsushi Nakagawa congratulated the governments of Zambia and Botswana for implementing the Kazungula Bridge project.
Africa, Development Bank (AfDB) resident representative for Malawi Andrew Mwaba said the project was a major milestone in addressing trade bottlenecks between the two countries. Dr Mwaba said his bank, which is celebrating 50 years this year, was repositioning itself to respond to the needs and transformation of the continent.
Botswana Transport and Communications Minister Nonofo Molefhi said the bridge would join Zambia and Botswana in facilitating the movement of goods and people of the SADC region.
Zambia’s Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Minister Yamfwa Mukanga said Kazungula Bridge was one of the major projects to be undertaken in Zambia under the Patriotic front Government.
Souce: Finish Kazungula Bridge - Scott. The Times, Zambia , (13/09/14)

Zambia faces Kazungula bridge funding gap

The Zambian Government will be compelled to spend about K275 million on the construction of the Kazungula Bridge across the Zambezi River unless a donor is found.

Minister of Works, Transport, Supply and Communications Yamfwa Mukanga said in Lusaka recently that Government would have to budget for about K55 million (US$9.2 million) annually over a four-year period to build the Kazungula Bridge if a financier is not found.

The decision by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to pull out from co-financing the project due to a tender dispute has left Zambia and Botswana with a funding gap for the project whose ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for Friday.

Zambia and Botswana have since awarded the contract to South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering and Construction at a cost of US$160,622,718.

Other short-listed companies were China Major Bridge Engineering Corporation which offered to build the bridge at a bid price of US$129,981,888 and Japan’s Shimizu and South African’s Stefanutti, which submitted a joint venture bid of US$246,973,570.

Some experts, who preferred to remain anonymous have, however, questioned the decision to award the contract to Daewoo at the expense of China Major which offered the lowest bid price and met all technical requirements.

“China Major has experience in Africa and they are the ones behind the Mongu-Kalabo bridge and they met all specification only to be told that ‘your bid was unreasonably low.” Mr Mukanga, however, said the decision to award Daewoo the tender was carefully considered. “What transpired was that after we short-listed three firms, we carried out an engineer’s assessment and the closest was Daewoo and they got the bid and the contract was signed last Friday and ground-breaking [ceremony] will be done on September 12, 2014,” he said.

He explained that JICA has pulled out completely in terms of financing the bridge component of the project. “The pull-out by JICA gives us two options, either we share the ratio and include it in our budget to result in spending K55 million (US$ 9.2 million) every year over the next four years and Botswana will also spend US$7.8 million over the same period or we convince the AfDB to take up the funding gap since they are funding other components of the project such as building of two-one stop border posts, staff houses, approach roads, among other items,” Mr Mukanga said.

He said AfDB president Donald Kaberuka had shown interest in the project when he visited Kazungula last July. “Dr Kaberuka was here and we presented our part. I am sure they will come back and finalise with our Ministry of Finance to provide extra funds. The bridge will bring economic benefits to not only Zambia and Botswana but the entire region because we all trade and it will change the way we do business,” Mr Mukanga said.

It is anticipated that construction of the rail bridge at Kazungula will reduce the huge economic cost incurred by the Southern African Development Community region due to delays in crossing the river, which is currently serviced by the ferry system to move goods and vehicles. On average, 70 trucks cross the pontoon every day.

Source: State to finance Kazungula bridge project unless… Zambia Daily Mail, (11/09/14)

Construction of P1.4 billion Kazungula Bridge to start next year

ruction of the much anticipated P1.4 billion Kazungula Bridge is expected to start early next year, after the two hosting countries, Botswana and Zambia, last week signed a contract agreement with the contractor, Daewoo Engineering and Construction.

The Korean multinational last week announced that it had been awarded the tender to construct the bridge, connecting Zambia and Botswana, at a price of US$161, 961 million (P1.4 billion).

The bridge project is expected to boost Daewoo E&C’s forays into Southern Africa, as the company endeavors to expand its influence in the region and exploit the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s ambitious infrastructure development projects. The project will also facilitate trade between Botswana, Zambia and the SADC region by reducing the number of days taken by truckers at the Kazungula border from six days to six hours, improving border management operations and reducing time-based trade and transport costs. Statistics show that the project will reduce vehicle operating costs by US$ 3,756,367 for passenger vehicles and US$ 2,350,100 for trucks per year by the year 2020. The multi-million dollar project will connect the North-South corridor through a 923m long by 18.5m wide rail/road bridge on the border between Botswana and Zambia, which lies at the confluence of the Chobe and the Zambezi Rivers, as well as two one stop border facilities, access roads and ramps.

The project will also ease the flow of business in the Southern Africa region. Botswana and Zambia have been using a ferry to move goods, people and other services to and from either sides of the Chobe river, known on the Zambian side as the Zambezi. The ferry service posed a serious bottleneck to smooth flow of traffic and hampered full development of trade between the two nations and the SADC region. The two nations last week signed a Contract Agreement for the bride project, which is expected to commence next year and take four years to complete.

Daewoo E&C Vice-President, Kim Hong Gou, was quoted in the Sunday Post, a Zambian publication, saying the company will do its best to complete the bridge within the projected four-year period and ensure that environmental and safety measures are taken into consideration. Gou was briefing the media after the construction contract signing ceremony that was held at Protea Hotel in Livingstone, Zambia.

“Currently, we are here to make preparations for the project. After signing, part of the delegation will be here to prepare. We should be able to start next year. From now up to end of this year, we will be mobilizing for construction of the project,” he said.

Daewoo E&C has undertaken hydro-power projects, housing projects and harbor construction projects in North America, Libya, Algeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Botswana and Sudan. Goitsemang Morekisi, Transport Hub Coordinator in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, represented Botswana at the signing. She revealed that the project was made up of four components and what was being signed for was the actual bridge construction while the other three components, which she could not give their actual figures, were still under tender.

“This is the time when a lot of work is really beginning. We are going to be working with the consultants and the contractor on a daily basis to deliver the bridge,” she said.

The publication also quoted the Director of the Zambia Road Development Agency, Bernard Chiwala saying that with the signing ceremony confirmed, Zambia was truly being transformed into a land-linked country. The bridge construction component is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the governments of Botswana and Zambia. Vice President Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe and his Zambian counter-part, Vice-President Dr Guy Scott, will perform the groundbreaking ceremony next week. The expected time-savings from the project amount to US$ 1.4 per vehicle/hour for private cars and US$ 11.1 per vehicle/hour for buses and another US$ 2.45 per vehicle/hour for trucks. The project will also benefit SADC and harness trade by improving regional connectivity of the North South Transport Corridor, complementing regional integration, improving the region’s trade competitiveness and creating employment opportunities. The Kazungula Bridge project is expected to employ up to 500 people during construction and another 100 people to operate and manage the bridge after completion. In addition to the loan, JICA has pledged to provide to Botswana with technical assistance worth US$ 6 million, which will cover capacity building in the form of project management, and operations of the one-stop border post.

Source: Construction of P1.4 billion Kazungula Bridge to start next year, The Botswana Gazette, (11/09/14)

South Korean company Daewoo wins controversial contract to build bridge over Zambezi River

South Korea’s Daewoo Engineering & Construction said yesterday that it had won a $161m contract to build the first-ever bridge over the Zambezi River connecting Zambia and Botswana.

Daewoo said the project would bring economic advantages to both countries and that the idea had been “cherished” by them for 40 years.

But the contract has been hit with controversy after a major funder, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), withdrew its loan for the project over a reported tender valuation dispute.

And another of the bidders, China Major Engineering, has written to the local authorities asking why its bid, said to be the lowest, was rejected.

The two countries agreed to build the Kazungula Bridge in 2007, according to local media. Currently only a ferry at the border town of Kazungula, Zambia can cross the 400m stretch of river.

In October 2012, JICA announced that it would lend Botswana $84.2m and Zambia $27.7m to build the bridge. JICA said it would help the two landlocked countries remove transport bottlenecks and develop their economies.

JICA was joined by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in promising funds, and both the governments of Zambia and Botswana would contribute.
But earlier this month JICA surprised all parties by withdrawing from the scheme.

According to the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper, a dispute arose over the technical evaluation of bids from three shortlisted firms before a tender could be awarded.

Those firms were Daewoo, a joint venture between Japan’s Shimizu and South Africa’s Stefanutti, and China Major Bridge Engineering Corporation.

“They [JICA] have pulled out and we shall try to engage the African Development Bank (AfDB) to put in more resources,” Zambia’s transport minister, Yamfwa Mukanga, told the newspaper, adding: “then we shall set the new date for ground-breaking which was supposed to have taken place last month.”

The newspaper reported that China Major Engineering chairman, Liu Ziming, has written to Zambia’s Road Development Agency questioning the decision to award Daewoo the tender when his company offered the lowest price.

The two countries appear to have decided to proceed without JICA, and Daewoo has been selected on the basis of a $161m contract, not $260m, which was the original reported cost.

Groundbreaking starts next month and construction is scheduled to be finished in four years, Daewoo said.

Daewoo said it was its first project in the region in 23 years, and that it hoped it would be a stepping stone for expansion in South Africa and neighbouring countries.

Daewoo recently won six other major contracts amounting to $3.39bn, including Kuwait’s Clean Fuels project, the new Orbital Highway Project in Qatar, and the Singapore’s Thomson-East Coast Line Project.

Source: Daewoo wins controversial contract to build historic bridge over the Zambezi River, GCR News (28/08/14)

Kazungula Bridge Project faces P710m funding gap

The Botswana Government is facing a mammoth P710 million bill to cover a funding gap for the construction of the Kazungula Bridge following the pulling out of the Japanese financiers.

Funded by loans from the African Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as well as contributions from both Zambia and Botswana governments, the project’s ground breaking was initially scheduled for last month.

But the construction of the multi-billion Pula Kazungula Bridge is now only likely to begin towards the end of the year after JICA pulled out of the project over a ten- der valuation dispute.

“The funding gap for Botswana after JICA pulled out of Package 1 is $81 million (P710 million), which the Government of Botswana will finance under the Domestic Development Fund.

“Likewise, the Government of Zambia will find an alternative source of funding to fill the financing gap,” said Kgomotso Makwati, the public relations officer at the Ministry of Transport and communication. According to information obtained by the Business Week, at the centre at the dispute which led to JICA pulling out, was a disagreement over the technical evaluation of bids from three shortlisted firms. The firms included a joint venture between Japan’s Shimizu and South African Stefanutti, South Korea’s Daewoo and China Major Bridge Corporation.

The bridge construction project, including the one stop border posts as well as relocation of villagers on the Zambian side is expected to take four years at a cost of $259 million (P2.3 billion).

According to Morekisi, the two governments have since decided to award the tender for the construction of the bridge to Daewoo for $161 million, while other components of the project which include the building of two one-stop board er posts are still to be awarded.

Zambia, Botswana and Daewoo representatives were expected to meet in Livingstone, Zambia this week, where detailson the scope of work, procurement rules and contract terms were to be thrashed out. If negotiations with Daewoo are successful, the issue will be re- ferred back to political leaders with the contract mostly likely to be signed by September or October.

Source: Govt faces P710m Kazungula funding gap, Mmegi (15/08/14)

Tender dispute stalls Kazungula Bridge

Construction of the multi-billion Pula Kazungula Bridge is only likely to begin towards the end of the year after Japanese financiers pulled out of the project over a tender valuation dispute.

Funded by loans from the African Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as well as contributions from both the governments of Zambia and Botswana, the project’s ground breaking was initially scheduled for last month.

Information obtained by the BusinessWeek shows that before a tender could be awarded, a dispute arose early this year over the technical evaluation of bids from three shortlisted firms. The firms included a joint venture between Japan’s Shimizu and South African Stefanutti, South Korea’s Daewoo and China Major Bridge Corporation.

“The delays in the construction of the Kazungula Bridge Project was mainly due to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the financier of the Project disagreeing to the Technical Evaluation of the three bids which were submitted for the bridge, requesting for a re-evaluation.

“In April 2014, Ministers of Transport of the two member states met with the Japanese delegation in Kasane to discuss the issues surrounding the tender evaluation. Following the meeting, the member states agreed to award the contract without the support of JICA,” said Transport Hub Coordinator Goitsemang Morekisi.

The bridge construction project including the one stop border posts as well as relocation of villagers on the Zambian side is expected to take four years at a cost of $259 million (P2.3 billion). According to Morekisi, the two governments have since decided to award the tender for the construction of the bridge to Daewoo, while other components of the project which include the building of two one stop border posts are still to be awarded. JICA was supposed to have invested over $110 million into the whole project but efforts by BusinessWeek to establish the bridge component funding were unsuccessful.

With the disagreement confined to the bids for the bridge component only, Morekisi said that JICA is still expected to fund other components of the project.

The surprise pulling of the Japanese agency, which has been involved with the project from conception, has left the government of Botswana and Zambia with a funding gap on the project.

“An award of the contract for package 1, which refers to the bridge only, was made to Daewoo E&C at the sum of $ 162 million (P1.4 billion) on the 26th July 2014,” she said.

A meeting between Zambia and Botswana officials and Daewoo representatives in Livingstone, Zambia is now slated for August 11, where details on the scope of works, procurement rules and contract terms are expected to be thrashed out.

If negotiations with Daewoo are successful, the issue will be referred back to political leaders with the contract mostly likely to be signed by September or October. Speaking after a tour of the bridge site recently, African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka expressed concern over the huge economic cost to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region caused by delays in constructing the Bridge.

During his visit to the project on July 26, 2014 Kaberuka saw first-hand, a long queue of trucks waiting to cross from both sides of the border at Kazungula. Transporters are using old ferries (pontoons) to move goods and vehicles across the Zambezi River at the Kazungula border crossing between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“Kazungula Bridge Project is the most important undertaking that the Bank is currently financing on the continent,” Kaberuka said, adding: “It is unacceptable to have about 100 trucks on either side of the Zambezi River taking up to two weeks at the border posts before crossing.” He stressed the need to accelerate the resolution of any pending procurement and administrative issues delaying the start of bridge construction.

On average, 70 trucks cross with the ferry (pontoon) per day. The AfDB President also visited the Lumbo village-housing scheme on the Zambian side where the affected families will be resettled in the newly built permanent houses as compensation.

Source: Tender dispute stalls Kazungula Bridge, Mmegi Online (08/08/14)

African Development Bank calls for urgent action on Kazungula Bridge Project

African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka expressed concern over the huge economic cost to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region caused by delays in constructing the Kazungula Bridge, during his visit to the project on Saturday, July 26, 2014. The President saw first-hand, a long queue of trucks waiting to cross from both sides of the border crossing at Kazungula.

Transporters are using old ferries (pontoons) to move goods and vehicles across the Zambezi River at the Kazungula border crossing between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Kazungula Bridge is a multi-national project on the North-South corridor on the Zambezi River. The bridge construction is expected to take four years at a cost of US $259 million. The project is being funded by loans from the African Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as well as contributions from both the Governments of Zambia and Botswana.

“Kazungula Bridge Project is the most important project that the Bank is currently financing on the continent,” Kaberuka said, adding: “It is unacceptable to have about 100 trucks on either side of the Zambezi River taking up to two weeks at the border posts before crossing.” He stressed the need to accelerate the resolution of any pending procurement and administrative issues delaying the start of bridge construction. On average, 70 trucks cross with the ferry (pontoon) per day.

The AfDB President also visited the Lumbo village housing scheme on the Zambian side where the affected families will be resettled in the newly built permanent houses as compensation.

Kaberuka visited the Botswana side of the border and held meetings with Botswanan and Zambian authorities at Muwana Resort in Chobe at Kasane. In a briefing meeting at Kasane, Kaberuka pledged the Bank’s continued support to this project. He further stated that the Bank stands ready to bridge any financing gap should the two governments approach the Bank for further assistance.

Accompanying the President were Robert Sichinga, Zambia’s Minister of Commerce Trade and Industry, and Nonofo Molefhi, Botswana’s Minister of Transport and Communication. Also in the delegation were Zambia’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications, Mwimba Malama, and Permanent Secretaries from Zambia and Botswana responsible for Transport and Communications.

Source: President Kaberuka calls for urgent action on the Kazungula Bridge Project, ADB 30/07/14)

Construction of Kazungula Bridge to start in July

Construction of the US$190 million (P1.7 billion) Kazungula Bridge will commence in July, a joint statement by signed by the Botswana Minister of Transport and Communications, Nonofo Molefhi and his Zambian counterpart Yamfwa Mukanga states.

The two ministers noted that a lot of progress has been made in the procurement process for the contracts. “Out of the 26 companies that expressed interest to participate in the project, three have been shortlisted to bid for the project. It is expected that construction of the Kazungula Bridge will commence on July 12, 2014,” reads the statement. The evaluation of the technical proposals was completed last December.

The civil works for the proposed Kazungula Bridge and the railway line will comprise the construction of a 23 metres long by 18.5 metres wide rail/road bridge.

It will also include two one-stop border facilities, access roads and ramps across the Zambezi River. Speaking at the briefing, Mr Mukanga said the bridge is of strategic importance to the economic integration of the two countries and southern Africa.

He said the bridge will provide the much-needed connectivity and also link regional ports which handle exports and imports through Botswana and Zambia.

“The construction of Kazungula Bridge will address the challenges imposed by the existing ferry service, which is a major bottleneck to trade and smooth flow of people, goods and services,” he said.

Source: Construction of Kazungula Bridge to start in July, Mmegi online (31/03/14)
Construction of Kazungula bridge starts in July, Zambia Daily Mail (26/03/14)

Work on second Zambezi Bridge in Tete progresses

From: macauhub.com
22 July 2013

Construction of the deck of the new second bridge over the Zambezi River in the city of Tete, in Mozambique, is due for completion before the end of this year, the director-general of road company Estradas do Zambeze, Jorge Valério said in Tete. “After laying the deck finishing work will be carried out, including construction of guard rails, electrical installations and paving, which take longer,” he said. However, Valério said that, taking into consideration the current rate of construction, the bridge will be finished and delivered to the Mozambican government a month before the date outlined in the contract (September 2014). Construction began in April 2011.

The new bridge over the Zambezi River in the city of Tete is located at Benga, about 5 kilometres downstream of the current Samora Machel bridge, and is 715 metres long and 14.80 metres wide including both the road and pavements on either side. The bridge will reduce traffic on the Samora Machel bridge, which includes heavy vehicles carrying goods from landlocked areas in countries such as Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana to the port of Beira and vice versa, and is restricted to one vehicle at a time, causing delays and tailbacks. The work is expected to cost some 105.2 million euros and includes repairs on around 260 kilometres of road linking the city of Tete to the borders with Zimbabwe, on the way to the capital Harare, and with Malawi, to its capital, Blantyre.

Source: macauhub.com

Background: Mozambique to build new bridge over the Zambezi, BBC News, 8 July 2010

Kazungula Bridge will be a game-changer

Mmegionline, 4July 2013
The governments of Botswana and Zambia have announced the commencement of the first stage of construction of the Kazungula Bridge across the Chobe River.
The importance of the bridge to the two countries and the SADC region cannot be gainsaid. When complete, the bridge will ensure that for the first time, the SADC region is connected by road. The Chobe River forms the only boundary between Botswana and Zambia and over the years, this has slowed down the movement of people and goods from the southern parts of the SADC region to the north.
The water boundary meant that besides the air, the alternative and popular transport link between Botswana and Zambia was through the ageing or unreliable ferries that were prone to breakdowns. This lead to a pile-up during peak periods when the number of trucks carrying goods to and from factories and ports of regional economic giant South Africa overwhelm the carrying capacity of the ferries. But with the construction of the bridge to replace the slow and unreliable ferries, things are likely to change for the better. The Chobe River is vital in the region because in the Kazungula-Kasane area, it straddles the border between Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Plans to build the vital bridge have been on the cards for approximately two decades. Initially, Zimbabwe was to be part of the project but because of its well-known economic and political problems, it was left out though it will benefit from the facility.
With loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), it can only be concluded that the bridge will be completed in the next five years. We hope that all stakeholders will come together and put all mechanisms in place to curb corruption and any form of theft that a project of this magnitude may attract. We hope that each and every stage of the project will be monitored and fully accounted for. It is also our hope that the best contractors will be awarded the project to complete it within time and budget. We are tired of losing billions to overnight contractors who dump our projects midway leaving shoddy work behind. We hope the JICA and AfDB will use their position and influence to ensure that they get value for their money.
Once completed, this bridge will make trade within the SADC region and beyond, more endurable and less expensive, as compared to the current situation in which truck drivers spend nights in queues waiting for the pontoons to ferry them across the Chobe River. Some of these trucks carry perishable goods destined for distant customers, and it is a nightmare for the drivers to watch days and nights pass before they can cross to the other side of the Chobe River. The construction of the bridge comes at a time when experts on trade have advised that Africa needs to invest in infrastructure for faster economic growth.
Since the project is going to attract migrant workers from many countries, we hope that residents around the Kazungula-Kasane area will take care of themselves and make the project a blessing instead of a curse.
Source: here