The government’s Road Development Agency (RDA) is expected to announce – “before September this year” – a contractor to build the key road linking the capital Lusaka to the copper-rich regions. It is a strategic route: Southern Africa’s sole access corridor to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Last February, the United Party for National Development (UPND) government cancelled the $1.2bn road contract awarded to China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation (CJIC) in 2017 by the regime, citing “overpricing” of the tender.
The dual carriage road is 321 kilometres long, plus a 45-kilometre bypass road.
The initial CJIC contract was originally for engineering, procurement, construction and financing, but now the government plans to award the tender under a public-private partnership model.
Avic vs Casilli
According to sources within the RDA and the
There's more to this story
Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.
cancel anytime
Already a a subscriber Sign In
