By SARAH TEMBO in Luapula –
MORE than 60 per cent of the road works on the Kawambwa-Mushota road in Luapula Province have been completed, Road Development Agency (RDA) provincial Regional Manager Gustone Meleki has said.
Mr Meleki said the first intervention of the project which involved the maintenance of a 24-kilometre road starting from Kawambwa to Kawambwa Tea Estate had been completed and would soon be handed over to the RDA.
He said this on Wednesday in Kawambwa Township during the inspection of the Kawambwa-Mushota road.
“The project is in three interventions comprising five different sections. The contractor has finally completed work on the first intervention and done part of the works on the second and third intervention,” he said.
Mr Meleki said once the road was completed it would link Kawambwa, Luwingu and Mansa making the cost of doing business cheaper.
He said starting from Kawambwa junction, the road was being upgraded from gravel to bituminous standard of which most works had been done.
Mr Meleki said the 105-kilometre road project was being done at a total cost of  K250 million.
He said once the road was completed it would help the Kawambwa Tea Estate to smoothly transport its product to the Copperbelt and other provinces.
He further said Government was in the process of opening up the Luwena farm block in the area, hence the road would enhance transportation of goods from one place to another.
BCHOD Consulting Company Surveyor Epiphano Mulenga said the works were progressing very well and he was optimistic that the works would be complete before the April 2015 deadline.
RDA Senior Public Relations Manager, Loyce Saili said the project was in line with Government’s vision of developing the entire country by linking all the provinces.
Ms Saili said more than 200 youths in the province had been employed on the Kawambwa-Mushota Road project in line with Government’s agenda to creating jobs for the youth.
The Kawambwa-Mushota Road is part of the Link Zambia 800 project.
It starts from Kawambwa and goes all the way to join Luwingu Road at Luwingu junction.
The construction of the road started in April 2013 and was expected to be completed in April 2015.
UNIK Construction Company is working on the road.