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The implication to the cost and some delays to the project occur reflected by decision of Zimbabwe to pull out of the joint construction of the Kazungula Bridge. According to the source report, Zimbabwe pulled out of the agreement to construct the Kazungula Bridge late last year, citing reasons that they do not have any common boundary with Botswana where the bridge is supposed to be constructed although a memorandum of understanding had been signed. The public relations officer in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Amangwe Madisakwane, confirmed this in an interview with The Monitor.
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| One of the two pontoon ferries that cross the Zambezi at Kazungula |
He said since Zimbabwe pulled out, the project was shifted to accommodate their new stand but with cost implications, which resulted in Botswana and Zambia continuing with the construction of the bridge which will take six years to finish. According to Madisakwane, the draft final design report has been finalised and the final design report is expected in February and the procurement process is planned to be done this year during the first half of the year. He said it might take a longer time as it is a bilateral project and construction is expected to commence at the end of the year.
The construction of the bridge has been in the plan for more than 10 years now. The decision came about to address the complaints of congestion and delay in ferrying trucks and vehicles across, thus hampering trade in the SADC. The use of a ferry boat has proven to be inefficient as most of the times trucks caring goods, take a long time to cross the border.Sometimes when it is busy like during the festive season, they can even take up to a month to cross over. This has forced the government of Botswana to buy a ferry boat that cost P16 million to be used before the bridge can be finished.
