.MUSENGE

By REBECCA MUSHOTA –

SIXTY per cent of the of the maintenance works on the Ndola-Kitwe dual carriageway have been done, the recent Road Development Agency (RDA) Link Zambia 8000 status update report has stated.
According to the report, 60 per cent of the periodic maintenance works that started on November 28, 2012 have been done on the Ndola-Kitwe dual carriageway.
The works on the 60-kilometre road are scheduled to be completed on August 28.
Many people have, however, called for the quick completion of the road works to prevent any further road traffic accidents that have been attributed to the maintenance works.
While the rehabilitation works are being done, part of the road is closed which has caused congestion.
Some of the road traffic accidents recorded on the road have been fatal with the worst been in March this year, in which 13 people died.
Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge said the rehabilitation exercise should be accelerated before more lives were lost.
Mr Musenge said yesterday that the contractor China Jiangxi should accelerate its work because Government was concerned at the high number of people that had died on the road.
“We are concerned that more lives will be lost if the works take long so the contractor should accelerate the work,” he said.
Mr Musenge said the contractor should not go beyond the completion time in August.
The road rehabilitation works are costing Government about K298 million.
Meanwhile, the report said upgrading of the Chingola-Kitwe dual carriageway would cost about K575 million.
Sino-hydro Zambia has been given the contract and the exercise should be completed by March 2015.