Construction works of the Musaila-Lubwe Kasaba road in Luapula Province in Zambia is set to resume. Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister Vincent Mwale affirmed the report and said the government has released US $274,000 towards the project.
The road project had stalled since 2015, because the government owes the contractor, BSBK Limited. However the minister said it will resume this year after the rainy season. The funds released is part of the US $36m total cost of upgrading the road.
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Musaila-Lubwe Kasaba road
The 113km road passes along Lake Chifunabuli whose many terrain is swampy. The scope of works includes: clearing of bush and vegetation, construction of selected road Embankment Layers, Sub-base and Base Layers and Construction of new bituminous surfacing including shoulders. Other works are: provision of adequate drainage, provision of road marking and traffic signs and provision of guardrails and other ancillary works.
The project also includes access roads to Lubwe National Assembly Office (1.42km), Lubwe Secondary School (1.04km), Katote School Road (3.6km), and Mwewa-Shikamushile (7.13km). Others roads are: Kasaba Mission Hospital (0.38km) and Ipusukilo Mission loop road (2.6km).
The access roads will provide accessibility to clinics, schools and farming areas. Improvement of roads in the Lubwe Mission Area will also be done. The project has been re-awarded to Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construcao Africa SA who will upgrade the road from gravel to bituminous standard. Zambia possesses 67,671 km of roads. In 2014, 87% of paved trunk, main and district (TMD) roads were in good condition. 92 % of the paved roads are in good condition.
