By SYLVESTER MWALE in Mongu  –
CHINA Henan Corporation has been awarded a K147 million contract to rehabilitate the Kafue Hook Bridge along Lusaka-Mongu road following cracks that have developed on the 42-year-old infrastructure.
Road Development Agency (RDA) head of public relations Loyce Saili said when she inspected the bridge on Monday that the Chinese firm had already started mobilising equipment in readiness for the works which are expected to take two years.
The 280-meetre long bridge in the Kafue National Park was constructed with the support from the Chinese Government and commissioned in May 1973.
However, there has never been any form of maintenance from the time it was commissioned and several cracks are visible in all of its five columns, forcing the RDA to take a remedial measure.
“We noticed these cracks some time last year and we have decided that it is important that the columns are replaced and the contractor is currently mobilising and will be on site in the next few weeks to start the works,” Ms Saili said.
She, however, assured that the crossing point which is located at the heart of the country’s biggest national park was currently safe and urged motorists and the travelling public not to worry.
Ms Saili also announced that the agency will soon be launching a bridge maintenance programme with the support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The programme is aimed at checking on the status of bridges across the country with the view of rehabilitating them where necessary.
Ms Saili said the contract to rehabilitate 87-kilometre stretch from the Kafue National Park gate in Nkeyema and Kaoma Junction was currently waiting for approval from the Attorney General.
She noted that periodic maintenance that have been done in the past on the road had not helped and the agency had resolved to carry out a full rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, Nzovu Transport Limited, the company constructing the Kaoma-Lutanda road says 45 per cent of works have been done on the K9.9 million project.
The new 17.3 kilometre gravel stretch is economically significant in  that it links people – most of them small-scale farmers  in Mangango Constituency to market in Kaoma town.
Nzovu project manager Martin Nzovu said most of the works which started in May this year had been done and his firm was expecting  to finish the project by the end of October as per schedule.
Apart from the new road, the RDA is also set to upgrade to bituminous standards the Katunda-Lukulu and Kaoma-Kasempa roads which connect Western Province to North-Western.