The construction of the 89-kilometer Lumwana-Kambimba Road, which will open a highway between Zambia’s largest copper-producing region of North-Western Province and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s copper-rich province of Lualaba, with its capital Kolwezi, is now underway and progressing.
An on-the-spot check and tour conducted by the Zambian Business Times (ZBT) revealed that the concessionaire, Sandstone Consortium, has fully mobilized and resumed road construction works after securing key approvals needed to commence construction works.
The road is expected to be financed by a combination of equity and debt, with the consortium having fully mobilized and resumed construction works by injecting their own equity with the financial closure for securing full financing now almost complete.
The signing of the border agreement between Zambia and the DRC remains the only outstanding action, perhaps the final hurdle that the Zambian government needs to urgently facilitate to enable full financial closure and accelerated road and border infrastructure construction.
A check on the Zambian side by ZBT revealed that site mobilization is complete, with a fully functional site lab installed, construction equipment, and earth-moving vehicles and machines on site, and works progressing.
ZBT also found that Sandstone Consortium has secured and has on-site a full complement of construction consultants, project managers, and general workers (mostly hired from the local community), with construction works now underway.
Bush clearing of the approved road pathway is 100% done, with 78km out of the 89km fully surveyed and cleared.
Sandstone Consortium official representative Marcus Ascott told ZBT during the site visit and tour that the partnership with the government has so far been excellent. The government, through the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), has timely approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) plan, and the resettlement plan has also been approved, with all affected individuals duly resettled.
“Yes, ZEMA has timely approved the EIA plan, the resettlement plan, and we have received support from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Road Development Agency (RDA), and the Public Private Partnership (PPP) team,” Ascott told ZBT.
Ascott further told ZBT that “the road designs, which were done by the consortium partner and well-respected engineering firm Rankin Engineering, have also been approved, which has enabled Sandstone Consortium to immediately commence construction.”
The two concessionaires from both the Zambian and DRC sides of the border have also signed a co-operation agreement and have agreed to coordinate their works such that the roads from both sides of the two countries progress simultaneously. This will enable the road construction and border infrastructure completion timelines to be coordinated to ensure efficiencies and the opening up of the trade route without delay.
When asked by ZBT which government agency or ministry was remaining for the PPP road construction project to attain full financial closure so that construction works can be accelerated, Sandstone Consortium stated that the only remaining step is for the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, working with the Ministry of International Relations, to conclude engagements with their DRC counterparts and sign off the border agreement.
“Once the border agreement is signed off, all things being equal, this road construction will be accelerated, and with our project team and experienced consultants and partners on the ground, we can look at completing this project even ahead of the current projection of two years for the construction period.”
The Lumwana-Kambimba border road is an important economic road that will not only improve trade volumes between Zambia and the DRC but will also provide massive business and employment opportunities for the people of North-Western Province and Zambia as a whole. This road project is greenfield as it is opening up new land for development, new border infrastructure, as well as warehousing, retail, and commercial opportunities at the border and along the new road. This implies new and more business opportunities and jobs for Zambians.
