The African Development Bank (AfDB), Japan and the governments of Botswana and Zambia will finance the project.
The AfDB and Zambia signed a loan agreement on February 10th 2012 for the $80 million project.
The bridge is expected to significantly improve trade infrastructure of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African continent as a whole. One-stop border facilities will be erected in both countries with a 930-metre-long and 18.5-metre-wide road-rail bridge.
The Kazungula Bridge Project is expected to be completed in six years.
One-stop border facilities will be erected in both countries with a 930-metre-long and 18.5-metre-wide road-rail bridge.
The facility would provide vital transport infrastructure on that corridor as it would facilitate easy access to intra-regional trade and international market through connectivity with major sea ports.
It is foreseen that the bridge would maximise operational efficiency of the corridor and promote social and economic integration of the two countries.
The Zambezi River poses a significant barrier to movement of goods in the whole of southern Africa, affecting traffic between South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania and Malawi.
The Kazungula Bridge is, therefore, expected to enhance transportation of goods along the regional North-South Corridor that links the two mineral-rich countries, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the port of Durban in South Africa.
Source : TradeMark Southern Africa; Times of Zambia and Construction Review
(this article written for 1BINA.my)