By Lumbiwe Mwanza
GOVERNMENT has finally signed the contact for the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of 327-kilometre Ndola-Lusaka Dual Carriageway, and the rehabilitation of the 45-kilometre Luanshya- Fisenge- Masangano Road.
The same project was initially pegged at a jaw-dropping US $1.26 billion but will now only cost US $577 million under the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) model.
The initial contract was subsequently cancelled after the United Party for National Development (UPND) came into power on account that the contract value was inflated.
And speaking in Ndola today at the signing ceremony of the project, Minister of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane, called on Zambians to desist from deliberately building on road reserves with a view to be compensated.
Dr. Musokotwane says this trend undermines efforts of attaining socio-economic development adding that citizens have a role to play in supplementing Government’s efforts in providing good roads by avoiding such illegalities for monetary gain.
He has also appealed to motorists to be more responsible in the usage of the roads by not overloading trucks as this contributes to high maintenance cost which results into high toll fees.
He has further implored Zambians to be alert and report any overloaded vehicle to the Road Development Agency (RDA) or the police to preserve the local roads.
