By DELPHINE ZULU –

THE Road Development Agency (RDA) has urged BSBK Limited, the contractors working on the 113 kilometre road from Samfya to Kasaba Bay via Lubwa in Luapula Province, to expedite the works.
RDA senior manager public relations Loyce Saili said, RDA has paid BSBK and expects it to expedite the road works with the urgency it deserves.
“This road had administrative problems which have been cleared and that was partly the major cause of delay.
“That aside as RDA, we now want to see works accelerated especially after the rains,” Ms Saili said.
Speaking after guiding the media on a tour of the road project, Ms Saili said progress should be strictly monitored so that the contractor could work according to the schedule.
Earlier, when she paid a courtesy call on chief Mibenge of the Ushi people of Luapula, Ms Saili assured that his request to tar the road leading to Mibenge Secondary School would be looked into.
“It is part of our mandate as RDA to provide good roads for people to access social amenities including schools and hospitals, so be rest assured that RDA will seriously look into your request,” she said.
Chief Mibenge applauded RDA for its efforts to ensure that the Link Zambia 8000 road project was completed.
“We have seen how committed you people are, we have also benefitted here and we are happy that some roads are being completed while others are close to completion,” he said.
The traditional ruler appealed to RDA to tar the road leading to Mibenge Secondary School, the first learning institution in the province which was handed over to the community by President Edgar Lungu recently.
He also praised RDA for working on most roads leading to various chiefdoms in the area.
BSBK country head, Pratyush Kumar Swain promised RDA that the moving on site by the company during the rainy season was an indication of seriousness and would work round-the-clock not to disappoint the residents and other road users in the area.
Mr Swain said more than 90 per cent of earth works had been done and would be expedited after the rainy season.
“We have brought on board 37 qualified engineers in readiness for the works and about 400 to 500 locals will also be employed during the peak period of the project because for now, there is not  much work being done due to the rains,” he said.
Luapula Province regional manager Guston Meleki said once completed, the road would be used as a shorter route to link transporters of Samfya, Lusaka and Luwingu.
“Government plans to open the Northern Circuit tourism zone here, so with the upgrading of this road, the province is assured of a booming economy,” he said.