Deputy Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Panji Kaunda has disclosed that plans are underway to extend the Chipata/Mchinji railway line.
Colonel Kaunda said government was planning to extend the Chipata/Mchinji railway line from Chipata through Petauke to Mpika district in Muchinga province.
He disclosed this when he paid a courtesy call on Petauke District Commissioner (DC) Elijah Mwale at his office today.
And Col. Kaunda said another survey was being carried out to see how the railway line can also be extended to Luapula province.
He explained that a lot of manganese mining was expected to start taking place in Luapula province hence the need to have a sustainable transport system such as railway to reduce the pressure on roads.
Col. Kaunda said currently, many Zambian roads were being destroyed by heavy duty vehicles and government was spending a lot of money on road maintenance and repairs.
He noted that this was why government has seen it fit to improve the railway infrastructure in the country.
Col. Kaunda further disclosed that some Chinese companies have already shown interest in undertaking the railway expansion project.
And Petauke DC Elijah Mwale expressed happiness with the government plans saying it will significantly help in opening up the area for trade and investment.
Mr. Mwale said the development will be an achievement which the people of Petauke have been longing for since independence.
ZANIS
BA KAUNDA THOSE ARE NOT ROADS WHICH WE HAVE IN ZAMBIA. THERE ARE ROADS HERE WITH REALLY HEAVY AND CONTINUOUS TRAFFIC- DAY AND NIGHT. EVEN IN THE PRESENCE OF RAIL LINES IN ZAMBIA AND EVEN WITH JUST CARS, THOSE ROADS CAN BE DAMAGED EVEN BY CHILDREN PLAYING ICIMPOMBWA (SOCCER) ON IT.
So many trucks travel on roads in USA, Europe and here in Australia. Why are the roads not damaged? Â He expects a cheap road from China to lst more than 6 months
Guys you have a point, and we welcome the plans that PK has disclosed.
In addition to the railway developments, can we also have serious roads, such as you have in South Africa, Europe, USA as well as other developed nations in Asia, etc?
After one year in office this frog has finally said something
If he is a frof who are you.
Only a fellow would recoknise a his owm mate.
Stop that dirty filthy lauange
Your hatred stinks
you are a useless rotten Zambian engineer in Astralia doing nothing!!
Uli mbwa sana iwe. You will conttinue crying with your under 5 with bitterness until you die of it. ***** mwana imbwa iwe.
FOUL MOUTH-please lets choose what words we use even with the difference in political affiliations.Panji does not deserve to be called a frog,just as HH does not deserve to be called a cow,we are all brothers and sisters living in one country and striving to see the best for our country.i may not be happy with some Pf polices but i will not be so bitter as to refer to them as a frog or dog,its very un zambian.
@Engineer….Unlike you- BARKING every single day- Panji is a gentleman.
i we chikala engineer ulitole sana ulekwata umuchinshi.*****.
Has he stopped wearing kaputula
#2The Engineer (Australia) , mulichipuba bamudala.
Kuanda you are dreaming
Your dad took Zambia 27 years back wards
And where did you dad take it after 27 years if at all he had even the capacity to leave a legacy for you as his kids? Think about what you and your family have done for the Country and not what the Country can do for you.
@Engineer,it is Tonga bull devil incarnate.That approach does not work. With that u will b gone soon. What then do u want u opani?This is de approach hh and his dogs are using supported by hypocrites like ngocc .Plastics! Go pf!
U DEVIL INCARNATES,YOURS IS NOT WHAT IS GOOD .YOURS IS HATE ,JEAROUS, GREEDY AND TOTAL MADNESS. WITH LUCIFER NOTHING WILL COME FROM A HUMAN BEING .THAT’S HH AND COMPANY. THE PLASTICS KNOW THAT WITH SUCH OF PROJECTS IT IS A MINUS TO THEM. GO ,PF.
WHAT HAS YO DIRTY FATHERS DONE ? WHAT ARE U DOING U VULTURES? EVEN YO DEMAGOGUE ,HH WHAT HAS HE DONE APART FROM BOASTING OF HAVING MONEY WHICH DE DOG GOT THROUGH SUSPECIOUS MEANS. PF HAS NOT FAILED AND WON’T.ONLY IN YO SICK MINDS. EMBACILES.
WHAT HAVE YO DIRTY FATHERS DONE ? WHAT ARE U DOING U VULTURES? EVEN YO DEMAGOGUE ,HH WHAT HAS HE DONE APART FROM BOASTING OF HAVING MONEY WHICH DE DOG GOT THROUGH SUSPECIOUS MEANS. PF HAS NOT FAILED AND WON’T.ONLY IN YO SICK MINDS. EMBACILES.
Leave the Engineer alone you moochers! Just concentrate on squandering taxpayers money at the foreign holiday camps (Zambian Foreign Missions) your nepotistic relative sent you to!
And where has your tribalist under 5 taken you since he is “SO” educated and has “MILLIONS” plundered out of the Luanshya Mines through the receivership he did? You will die a bitter person with your under 5.
This guy from Australia is not an Engineer. Engineers by training are not supposed to be negative people. This frog sounds negative in everything that is discussed. I cannot imagine that such a guy a negative guy has undfergone rigorious mathematics and mechanics that types of engineers do, otherwise with his atitude, he could not have made it. No wonder he calls himself engineer, he is a dreamer. Please do not put this noble profession to shame!.
He is the only engineer on UPS list (Unemployed Peoples Society’s  club) Why is always the first to post the bitterness in everything? He seems to have nothing to do. Leave this sick FLOG. Akafwa intangalalo!
Sadakah please, should one not complain of retrogressive rule just because their father or preferred person has never had the chance to do the right thing? Please use your brain if at all you have any.
Panji Kaunda is talking nonsense. It took several years for the Govts of his father KK, Chiluba’s Govt, Mwanawasa/RB’s Govts to construct a 25 km rail-line to link it with the Malawian system at Mchinji. Zambians now expect the Mchinji-Chipata rail link to be operational. Political rhetoric of linking the Mchinji-Chipata rail link to Mpika is absurd. The distance from Chipata to Petauke is nearly 200km. Yet Petauke is closer to Serenje than Mpika.. There is also Muchinga escarpment tterrain to consider. .Logically, Luapula Province can only be linked to the Zambia-Tanzania Railway line, NOT to Mchinji. Therefore, Panji has officially joined the ranks of deceptionists to bluff the most vulnerable people of Zambia. This time around we want to see the Chipata-Mchinji rail link operational.
Interesting that some hoodlums even think that this is a statement worth listening to. This would be a colossal project that first needs to be included in a National Development Plan that this delusional character is not competent to announce – oh, did I just say National Development Plan? Sorry.
@Mwansa, I was also wondering how you can link Chipata, Petauke and Mpika, not serenje, Mkushi or even Kabwe!!!!!!!
Stop yo daydreaming mr kabudula majombo.
That’s a good move and it should be taken seriously. Zambia has relied on the port of Dar for too long a period hence the need to try other options and see how safe customers’ goods will be.
The Luapula rail extension is also warmly welcome and as a landlocked country more options to the sea must be taken into consideration e.g the route to Angola which is the nearest to the ocean as compared to the distance to the port of Dar.
We expect strict measures to be put in place to ensure that a bigger percentage of cargo is transported by rail and the remaining be supplemented by trucks and not vice versa.Â
when one dreams he is better than the other without vision,we can only advise to his blue print and see reason, lets avoid terms like frog and other unacceptable term in referance to humans.I hope we move in the same direction to ensure develoment or waste time for another four years..
#2 Â please respect, these boys born in UTH lol!
90 day promises now taking a more relaxed form.
‘Government is dreaming of building a railway from bla bla to bla bla……yawn!’
Stop telling us about plans. Just do it. Even if this is clearly a Bemba Tribal, please just deliver and stop ranting and yapping. PF is useless!!!
what a waste of resources..we need development not plans..long term..why waste money upto mpika..what’s there..?