China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation – CCECC, the company contracted to build a new office block for the Law Association of Zambia – LAZ has disclosed that over 70% of work has so far been covered on the site and the building is set for completion in March 2021.
LAZ had in September 2019 initiated the building and development of a high-rise office block in Lusaka from its 2019 budget.
CCECC Project Manager James Ai told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in an exclusive interview that the over K36 million (about US$2 million) office block includes the construction of a high-rise office (5 storey) block with associated external works, boundary wall, guard houses and perimeter fence and gates.
Ai told ZBT that more than 70 Zambians have so far been employed on the site and that work is moving on smoothly despite facing a few challenges arising from the Covid- 19 pandemic.
He added that workers have since been urged to keep safe while working amidst this pandemic, adding that the company is also ensuring every individual is adhering to the Covid-19 health guideline of keeping a distance, regular washing of hands and wearing a face mask.
“It is challenging to conduct construction works with the Covid-19 threats, however we have tried our best to keep our employees safe and so far, no one has been infected as we are also measuring their temperatures from time to time, in the morning when going in for work and afternoon when getting back from Lunch,” He said.
He further confirmed that health, safety and security measures are highly being managed and no employee has so far been injured on site while on duty.
LAZ had not responded by press time on what method of financing had been utilized to pay for the US$2 million building but indications are that contributions from members – practicing lawyers are a key revenue source for the association.
Professional associations in Zambia such as ZICA for Accountants and EIZ for engineers have all constructed notable head office building and are now embarking on constructing provincial offices to further penetrate and get more members across the 10 provinces of Zambia.
