Zambia gets preliminary design for Luangwa Bridge from Japan

The construction of Luangwa Bridge in Zambia was proposed long back and the contract was given to Japanese International Cooperation Agency.

Just a day or two before the arrest of Zambia’s Infrastructure and Housing Minister Ronald Chitotela, Japanese International Cooperation Agency submitted a preliminary design of the new Luangwa Bridge. The reports stated that the new Luangwa Bridge would be 500 metres long compared to the current one which is 300 metres long and would not curve. The direct bridge will reduce the cost due to the rock view.

The minister said after the preliminary design’s release that the old bridge required replacement urgently and the Zambian government looked forward to see the construction of the bridge asap so that it doesn’t hamper in future the movement of the people in and out of the province to Lusaka.

The new bridge is aimed to enhance trade and traffic volume between Zambia and the international community through the Port of Nacala in Mozambique compared to the suspended bridge which has a disadvantage as it only allows one vehicle to cross at a time, as reported by Construction Review Online.