By JULIUS PHIRI and SYLVESTER MWALE –
WORKS on the 150-kilometre stretch of the Chipata-Chadiza-Chanida-Katete Road in Eastern Province will require an additional K86.6 million to be completed.
According to a project brief by the Road Development Agency (RDA), the works under the Link Zambia 8000 Project will require the additional funding, which constitute an increase of 12.8 per cent of the current contract sum.
The road works requiring tarring would be implemented by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) that is currently upgrading the Chipata-Chadiza-Katete Road at cost of K713, 114,097.33.
The Government contracted CSCEC to carry out the works on the roads, which are expected to bring economic benefit to the province.
The report says following the completion of the detailed design and addition of the Chiswa link, the project would require the additional funding.
The report says the final design of the road will include an additional seven kilometres of road to complete the linkage of Chadiza-Katete Road with the Great East Road at Chiswa Village.
This link would also require the construction of one additional bridge.
Overall physical progress works of upgrading the Chipata-Chadiza-Chanida-Katete Road to bituminous standard stands at 39.7 per cent.
The project is estimated to be completed by the end of October next year.
The report adds that lack of funding from the Government is hampering the tarring works on the Chipata-Chadiza Road.
The report states that the Government still has a backlog of about K97.3 million towards the project.
About K282 million has been certified on the project which started in April last year and will be completed in the next 14 months.
In a related development, China Henan has tarred more than 70 kilometres of the Bottom Road out of the 131 under the Link Zambia 8000 Project.
The K332.9 million works, which are being done under the first phase, have also seen the construction of 18 bridges across different streams along the road which starts from Njami to Munyumbwe.
RDA senior public relations manager Loyce Saili said the agency had also made part of advancement to Stefanut Construction to start the upgrading the remaining 109 kilometres at more than K500 million.
Ms Saili said the RDA was pleased with the progress and work done on the project, which was initially scheduled to be completed this November.
She said the contractor, however, applied for eight months extension because of the terrain that had slowed the works.
“The contractor is progressing impressively and a number of major structures have been constructed. You may be aware that this area of the country receives flush floods and there have been a number of
challenges and he has applied for extension to end in July next year,” she said.
Ms Saili said the road was important as it would help small-scale farmers in the area to ease the movement of their produce.