Government and the Republic of Zambia have signed a multi-million pula contract with a Chinese company – Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group Company Limited of China (AFECC) – for the construction of a One Stop Border Post (OSBP) facility at Kazungula Border on the Zambian side.
The contract is being funded through a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB). According to reports obtained by this publication, a One-Stop Border-Post (OSBP) facility on the Zambian side is the third and final component of the Kazungula Bridge Project (KBP) which is expected to be complete in December 2018.
The first component was the construction of a temporary bridge over the Zambezi River to facilitate the construction of the 923m permanent road and railway-bridge. SUNDAY STANDARD is reliably informed that this phase is almost complete. The second phase was the building of a One-Stop Border-Post on the Botswana side of which the contract was awarded in March 2016 and work is well underway. The third component that involves the construction of OSBP on the Zambian side is anticipated to start soon since the two countries have signed the multi million deal.
Once the project is complete, it would reduce border transit times from as much as five days to only one or two days. It is also envisaged that improved border operations and border management will ensure efficient service delivery and curb congestions. It would also provide the much-needed connection between the regional economic areas and link regional ports which handle exports and imports from and through Botswana and Zambia.
The bridge would also enhance transportation of cargo and passenger traffic along the regional North-South Corridor, which links the mineral-rich regions of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Botswana, Zimbabwe and the port of Durban in South Africa.
