![Recently rehabilitated Lusaka -Chirundu road damaged by rains[ZNBC]](https://i0.wp.com/www.lusakatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/chirundu1.jpg "chirundu1")
The Lusaka -Chirundu Road has been damaged on the Kapilingozi stretch, about 100 Kilometres from Lusaka.
Rain water from nearby mountains and rockfalls have contributed to the damage to the road.
The incident follows recent repairs by China Heinan which was recently contracted to reconstruct the stretch of the road at Kapilingozi to improve safety. Motorists have blamed the damage on poor workmanship by the Chinese company.
Road Development Agency, RDA, Head of Public Relations, Loyce Saili, says the damage is serious.
Ms. Saili told ZNBC news that as a result of the damage heavy trucks on both sides of the road are marooned.
She said RDA engineers have been dispatched to assess the extent of the damage.
The road is the lifeline for movement of goods between Zambia and its neighbours to the south.The RDA said that a portion of the Chirundu Highway has been cut off and there was currently no movement of traffic going to either side of the Zambian border with Zimbabwe.
The Chirundu border post, which is one of landlocked
Zambia’s busiest entry points, leads into neighbouring
Zimbabwe and further on to countries such as South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland.
Zambia receives the bulk of her imports through Chirundu and also exports a significant portion of goods through the same border post.
However, heavy rains over the last few weeks have completely washed away a portion of the road — cutting off traffic to and from Chirundu.
[ZNBC/APA]
This is a sorry sight. I remember travelling that way on way to Joburg….
Too bad.
MMD circus now showing in theatres – thats what you get for over believing in foreign investors.Did those chinese put any concrete under that road.Looks like they just did a surface job.My daughter sings the song ‘the foolish man built his house on sand,and when the rains came down it went CRASH! Next time hire South africans they build good roads.Better still hire Zambian engineers in the diaspora to do the job I’m sure they would love a few months working holiday in Zambia.
Simple search on Google provides ample evidence that SA is not immune to such problems – neither is the United States by the way. Let us not be so keen to wear rose tinted glasses for anywhere other than Zambia.
I’ve lived in SA for a long time in a mountainous region and I’ve never seen such an incidence especially just after constructon.There are rock falls but not where the road is extensively dammaged like that.You got shares in that chinese company or what?
THATS NOT A TAR ROAD. EVEN MY 3 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WOULD SAY, “THAT ROAD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH, ITS TOO THIN”. YOU KNOW ZAMBIANS NEVER CEASE TO SURPRISE ME-WHO SIGNED THAT CONTRACT FOR SUCH A RAZOR-BLADE THIN ROAD? ONE WONDERS WHETHER WE HAVE CIVIL ENGINEERS IN ZAMBIA WORTH THEIR SALT. YOU GUYS ARE FILTHY THIEVES WITH YOUR POLITICIANS. LT, CAN WE HAVE A FACILITY WHERE WE CAN UPLOAD PICTURES TO EXEMPLIFY WHAT WE DISCUSS, PLEASE. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT-TO BRING ZASMBIA TO THE WORLD.
IMWE, ROAD ii YAPA YARD. NOT HIGHWAY.
i MEANT, NOT MOTORWAY
Why is there no drainage or capture basins for the rainfall water from the hills to have it chanelled under the road on the way to the valley below?
Good observation. I bet even Manenekela in Luangwa on Great East Road the construction should be the same.. Crying for drainage systems to reduce excessive sogging.
I passed that spot a week ago. The whole stretch at kapilingozi needs attention. Rockfalls from hill sides needs securing RTS thats your job.
Man SAKAZA
With so much traffic using that road, one would expect the road agency to have restructured the road and made any neccessary improvements. Who will take the blame for this fiasco? The road agency? Ministry of transport? At this point in time Zambia can not afford to lose any revenue.
Was this road rehabilitation done with a grant or given as Aid. How else do you explain such a shoddy job from Chinease compab=ny whon we know from the civil works in their country can do a splendid job. I can only assume that this job was not awarded under a competitive tender. Its is such a shame because scarce Zambian resources have again gone to waste.
When a company builds a house under contract, it is not unusual to have a 10 year guarantee on completion. I doubt such a complex project would have a contract that places the cost of this damage solely on the Zambian tax payer. Until we know the details, it is premature to start typing baseless conclusions as some have been so keen to do. I do applaud your measured response and your desire for additional clarity. we need more people with that attitude on this site.
It is not the Chinese company that is at fault. It is the people who signed off the completed project as satisfactory, thereby releasing the money. We should not be so keen to throw stones without facts. This road was subject to a contractual agreement – it would be wise to refer to the obligations under the contract and how such obligations might be enforced in this case before embarking on yet another fruitless dance of keyboard vitriol against Zambians in general and the government in particular.
Guys at RDA that is a Slip Failure, do your supervision seriuosly.
Poor workmanship by the Chinese company and infestors. 🙁
Shear poor workmanship. In other countries the Engineer in Charge of this project would have been brought to task
mwaona Manje ma fake Road Engineers mwabwelesa ku Zed. Corruption Singasile.
Many times we blame politicains, but I believe many bloggers on this site are proffessionals. What I m seing is not a political failure, it is a technical failure. Who was supervising the works and certified them for payments. Lets own-up, sometimes we have tended to unfairly blame politics for our incompetence, please can the culprit be booked! RDA/ Works and Supply/NCC, explain what happened?
I always say “cheap is very expensive”………
If shoddy work can be signed off on such an important route, just imagine what is happening to our township roads.It is a rip-off.At least LPM once got upset about these shoddy works but now, well every one wants a cut.
Thats a gravel road painted black with tar!
Thanks to our comrades from the east. How much do we have to pay for this shody work ?
The zambian road engineers must account for having passed off this workmanship.