THE Road Development Agency (RDA) says the $260 million Kasomeno-Mwenda road, bridge and One Stop Border Post project, linking Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo is 50 percent complete.

RDA adds that the bridge construction alone is at over 60 percent completion.

The project started in 2024 under a Public-Private Partnership, with GED Africa Zambia Limited as the concessionaire under a 25 year period.

Speaking when he toured the project in Mwense District, Monday, RDA Chief Communications and Corporate Affairs Manager Anthony Mulowa said the road works were expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2027.

“We are here in Mwense, where we are undertaking a very transformative project in Zambia’s road sector. Kasomeno-Mwenda road bridge project covers Zambia and the DRC, which makes this a very strategic road corridor, not only for Zambia, but also for DRC. DRC, just like Zambia, is well known for its mining activities and this infrastructure will go a long way into a good thing to ensure that the mining activities as well as other activities taking place here in Mwense and Luapula province as a whole. Luapula is known for fishing, there is also agriculture here and this infrastructure is just going to transform this area. 184 kilometres of road was expected to be done between Zambia and Congo,” he said.

“It’s going to be the biggest hub in terms of trade facilitation as well as many other activities. In terms of progress, the concessionaire is doing a commendable job from the time they started the works in 2024. And progress for the entire project is about 50 percent, which is remarkable. The bridge is also forming up. The bridge works separately are standing at over 60 percent. And we should be able to launch the members [of the bridge] by December and we expect the bridge works to be concluded by the third quarter of 2027. Equally the road works are progressing well and we also anticipate the road works to be completed by the third quarter of 2027. What is important to note is that the main works for the bridge are forming up well and the remaining works are not going to be that difficult. I just want to commend the concession here to ensure that they continue with the good works and to ensure that this connectivity is brought to fruition.”

He said once completed, the project would decongest existing border posts such as Mokambo and promote regional trade and investment.

“Zambia, like I said, with DRC will depend on this important corridor, we need to decongest the borders we have across Mokambo, the other side, and this group border facility is surely going to go a long way, you know, to promote trade and investments, not only in Zambia but across DRC. So this project is being worked on under the public private partnership financing model and GED Africa Zambia Limited at the concessionaire for the project the total cost is $260 million and the concession period is for 25 years which is a three years construction there after we’ll go into the operation and maintenance, which will be the remaining period for the concession. So during this time the concessionaire will be ensuring that the infrastructure is maintained and the operations of the infrastructure,” he said.

Mulowa urged Zambian entrepreneurs to look beyond construction jobs and establish investment ventures to exploit the long-term trade benefits expected within the Kasomeno-Mwenda trade corridor.

“I think on the economic front, I would like to appeal to Zambians to take advantage of such a big opportunity which is coming. So it’s our belief that people should set up big businesses. Big companies should come through and take advantage of the long term opportunities which will come with the bridge. This opportunity is similar to Kazungula in Southern Province, you see how various businesses are thriving. So it will be good that people gear up and prepare themselves so that we can get the maximum benefits of this very important infrastructure by investing. I am aware that currently, there is a lot of work expressing interest in settling around the area according to the local authorities. That is commendable but we would want more,” said Mulowa.

Meanwhile, GED Country Manager Kanyika Mumba said the project had created over 1,500 local jobs.

“On Local Content commitments on this particular project, we’ve got a requirement for local content in the concession agreement, which is around 30 percent local content. On local sourcing of inputs: right from the supply of materials that are being used on the project, whether it’s cement, diesel, any inputs that go into the project, we should look at getting the materials locally. On job creation numbers, if you look at employment numbers, I think the project is now in excess of 1,500 local jobs. I’m a Zambian working on this project, and many other Zambians are working on this project,” said Mumba.