PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday said Zimbabwe was now part of the Kazungula Bridge project that was snubbed by his predecessor, the late President Robert Mugabe.
Kazungula Bridge is a road and rail bridge constructed over
the Zambezi River between Zambia and Botswana at Kazungula. Its completion is largely expected to divert
traffic passing through Beitbridge to the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Malawi, constricting the country’s revenue base.
The US$259,3 million project was mulled in August 2007 by
the governments of Zambia and Botswana on a 50-50 deal and construction work
began in October 2014.
The 923-metre-long bridge links the town of Kazungula in
Zambia with Botswana and is curved to avoid the nearby borders of Zimbabwe and
Namibia.
The bridge features a single-line railway track between two
traffic lanes and pavements for pedestrians and is also connected to the
Mosetse–Kazungula–Livingstone Railway.
It will be officially opened on May 10. While commissioning
a completed 6,5km stretch of the Marongora–Hellsgate section of the
Makuti–Chirundu Road funded by the
Japanese government on Wednesday, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe joined the two
neighbours in the project.
“During this month, I will be joining the Presidents of
Botswana and Zambia at Kazungula, to commission the Kazungula Bridge. With the
coming in of the new dispensation, Zimbabwe came on board the project and the
bridge is now owned by three countries,” Mnangagwa bragged.
However, according to a Press release by the Botswana
Transport and Communications ministry dated May 1 announcing the date of the
official opening of the bridge seen by NewsDay yesterday, Zimbabwe was not
named as part of the project or funders.
“Package 1 funded by both governments of Botswana and
Zambia on 50% basis. The contract was awarded to Daewoo Engineering and
Construction at an original sum of US$161 961 304,84 which has been revised to
US$171 184 799,54 to incorporate 16% VAT (value-added tax) component from the
government of the Republic of Zambia,” read part of the document.
“Package 2, one-stop border Botswana was funded by JICA
(Japan International Co-operation Agency) exclusive of VAT while the Botswana
government funded the VAT component. The contract was awarded to Zhong Gan
Engineering and Construction at a cost of BWP 440 116 275.50, Package 3 One
Stop Border Zambia is funded by AfDB. The contract was awarded to Anhui Foreign
Economic Construction Group Co Ltd at a cost of ZMW 263 670 419,98.”
But Information secretary Ndavangi Mangwana on his Twitter
handle confirmed that indeed Zimbabwe had joined Botswana and Zambia as
co-owners of the bridge through its rights on the Zambezi River.
“This month, President @edmnangagwa will be joining his
Motswana and Zambian counterparts as the trio commissions Kazungula Bridge. You
may recall that Zimbabwe joined the Kazungula Bridge project through the
Zambezi River, in Phase II of the project,” Mangwana tweeted.
He, however, did not disclose how much Zimbabwe had
contributed towards the construction of the bridge. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment