EXIM bank of China has released a payment of US$108 million for the construction of the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA).
The upgrade of the KKIA will cost US$360 million which will be financed by the Exim Bank of China through a loan facility signed by the Government.
Transport, Works, Supply and Communication Minister Yamfwa Mukanga confirmed the development in Lusaka yesterday.
The minister said the airport would be upgraded by China Jiangxi International at a cost of US$360 million and is expected to be finished in 2018.
“We are looking at the programme of works and we have told the contractor that the programme of works should be handed in by Friday because we want to have a programme other than just working so that we can review it,” he said.
The new airport will contain a new two-storey terminal building,22 check-in counters, 12 border channels and six security check counters; a presidential terminal, a new air traffic control building and tower.
It will also include a new Zambia Airport Corporation office, ashops complex and a hotel, among others.
Mr Mukanga said significant progress had been attained regarding the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport project following the thorough review of the architectural designs.
“Currently about 95 per cent of the drawing have already been done but out of those 95 per cent we have Rescue and Fire Appliance Bay which is done and we have a VIP lounge site which has been done also,” he said.
Mr Mukanga said they have other challenges that needed to be worked on adding that once the money is released in the China Jiangxi International account they will be a lot of progress.
“Most of the issues that were affecting construction were issues of understanding and ensuring the contractor does its part,” Mr Mukanga said.
Mr Mukanga said the funds for the construction of the KKIA were intact saying that the funds would be transferred directly into China Jiangxi International’s account.
“The money will be released directly into the contractors account from Exim Bank of China… it’s not coming from the ministry to the contractor even when we signed a loan the money moves from Exim Bank of China to the contractor and what we want is to see the result,” he
said.
The new KKIA once completed will be a show piece in the region competing with the likes of OR Tambo in South Africa. ZACL is striving to make the airport a regional hub.
Let’s do something right for a change. Could you also upgrade the road to the airport. Those hapless tenants who have built too close to the road must have the riot act read to them.
Responding to your comment @ Kalok,
“Let’s do something right for a change” let me tell you something mate, this move by GRZ is stupid,ty of highest.How do you borrow from china and allow china to get the money??? Any sane person would find this insane at highest. We are basically making ourselves poorer while making china double rich. first you get a loan and pay interest on it. Then you take the same money and give it to the lender. classic thinking and you applaud.
So why do we have engineers and builders in a country yet they can not build. Our Grz have no heart for mother Zambia at all. When are we going to be skilled even after 50years of independence. Bazungu or bachinese are not smart than us but our politicians make these idio,ts seem smart than us.
Cha your engineers can’t even be trusted in building school toilets without abandoning works after a down payment and you want to trust them with an airport?
Put a Zambian company incharge suddenly you will find the whole total for the project payed to the company before completion and the stealing spree begins.
@Cha, I applaud your reasoning on the channeling of the loan but look, we are in essence the proverbial beggar who doesn’t choose. It is either you want an airport at those low terms or try the West. Good luck. On the question of Engineers, it is a known fact that by and large your Engineers are either too far ahead of your society to appreciate, or at best they crammed their exams to simply TALK engineering and not trustworthy to put up anything seriously evoking local respect. Enough said. Oh by the way we resist paying tax obviously since perceptively it is a cash basket for the executive…
You guys Kalok & Patrick why are you saying “your” as if the zambian engineers belong to me alone, they also belong to you both. It is our problem together.
Now let us get back to your thieving politicians. They are the cause of this stealing by your engineers and accountants. They should start small by first encouraging your engineers to build a toilet then a bathroom One day they will build an airport. but like I said before 50 years is too much bane. I live kubasungu but I have seen that amano they don’t have much. ifwe too much laziness and cadrelism at airport and markets that is why we are begging always.
Cha, you are right it is the politicians who are usually semi-litrate who are to blame for facilitating this laziness and corruption. All they seem to care about is campaigning and stealing.
Toilets, engineers…..
@Cha, you are right – we need to own them but then again you toss them back at me and Patrick. Ok. I have been privileged to have worked in Africa, Asia and Europe. What I notice the Asians and European drive has that we do not have (especially in Zambia) is the “get up” spirit. They willing to invest time and patience and a whole lot of persistence in what they do. That way, getting things done trumps trying to get an ‘A’ at school. If only we can combine this drive with our desire to get top marks we could begin to move “our” engineers somewhere. Come on, @Cha, let’s own them now…
Good job. I hope it was completed like yesterday.
Upside down, round and round. Inside out boy you turn…….moves moves direct from bank to contract!!! A question if not trusting them
Meant money moves…
@Cha. .good point my dear…! As much as we need the new airport. ..mental and skilled development should go hand in hand…money from China going back to them…engineers from China. …materials from China. …! For how long are we going to be at the receiving end please…!
@Cha forget about how the money is handled. Moreover this is not our money but money borrowed for a purpose. Its better our politician do not touch this money in any way and it goes directly to the company engaged to build. Look at the current situation and the end result of the airport . Our current airport is pathetic and not attractive. When completed look at the money that will starting rolling in through tourists and other people that would be using our airport on transit. Some times we must look beyond our pride and ego, in as much as we would want to promote our own engineers’. They still have a long way to go, for now they are still at toilet level and time will come when they will be engaged to do an international airport. There is a lot of development to be done in our country.
This is likened to borrowing from shoprite and being paid instore via their products. YOU can’t even shop around all you have to do is payback that $360m with interest. What stupid leaders we have…and you wonder why we are not surrounded by architectural marvels but Chinese eyesores.
Win-win for Chinese products, skilled labour and services.
HE WHO PAYS THE PIPER DICTATES THE MUSIC
thus why i say MMD was better than this pf..borrowing is all they know..i see this country overwhelmed with debt to a level where they will start defaulting… use PPP to advance certain developments imwe ba mpanda nsengu… a turkish investor was ready to pump in $550m.. infact more than ka $350m u are talking about..you even claim to say ati master piece…master piece my ass. 2016 vote HH bane make no mistake.
We really need Infrastructure financing experts in Africa. Firstly, PPP is cheaper for the country as no debt is incurred. Then, which contract type are they using which allows the financier to pay the contractor directly? Unless if they have put in a clause where works are first tested and certified by the clients agent before money can be paid to the contractor……If that has not been done then we might get a raw deal and the maintenance costs will be too high for national airports to cope with.
anyway am just sayin……
Its via an exim bank the self way India is building you those 650 prefabricated health posts.
Where there is no vision,people perish.what we are seeing now is not as a result of the airport being small all of a sudden.it was small when it was built but like many things we do as Africans we refuse to look at the possibility of an increase in numbers,possibility for expansion and therefore planing and allocation of funds for it.we build cities, towns,hospitals with no foresight whatsoever.Look at UTH, UNZA, CBU, EVELYN HONE?is it a concidence?are we so unfortunate that such lack of space occurs suddenly just to us?NO,we are not good planners.we live for the now and let those who will there sort it out when it occurs.its starts from our family units.The same dull people in our families with poor skills end up being decision makers.How many cars are parked at GRZ building simply becaus
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How many cars are parked at GRZ building simply because they cant be maintained?how many of us still have our used cars bought 15 years ago?many of us actually, so how is it that a landcruiser bought from toyota zambia all of a sudden cant move whEN its just 5 years old?no maintenace plan..look at manda hill and zcas.what do they have in common?the proprietors Knew they wud have an increase in traffic,left land for expansion and had a strateggy.they had their own funds and therefore ontrol over who does the job for them.soon and very soon we will be borowing money to upgrade the roads in the city because whether we like it or not we will need to expand if we are to move in lusaka.Anything showing preparednes?none.to the contraly we are allowing people to…
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so close to the road as though we are all dying tomorrow. look at kafue road and those lamasat people after the round about?is it ok? we differ with muzungus on one thing. planing.we dont..they do..am sure they have already looked at the nonsense we do in this city,estimated how long it will take for Lusaka traffic to become so bad that we will all beg for expansion then they will come up with beautiful designs on how to evade traffic,then we will borrow and pay through our noses and since it will be their drawings we will gladly say let them do it.we know what to do but our leaders are not intelligent.they are talkative but not intelligent and we confuse talkativeness with intelligence.we are not foresighted and those that areforesighted find being a leader…
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we are not foresighted and those that are foresighted find being a leader in this country is a terrible idea because the people you will work with have no interest in developing this country.what does it take build a beautiful school or police station?look at central police.it was build once,furnished once and that was the end.we know nothing about smooth continuity.planning is the least of our concerns but we forget that lack of planing costs a lot in the long run.
The funny thing about all this nowhere has this dull minister mentioned the projected annual passengers this selfsame airport will handle once completed.
The dull thing is that most of the comments display ignorance….do you think the MMD got the money for Levy and Heroes Stadia? Do you think it passed thru the MMD politicians before the Chinese companies were paid? Hell No!…. Otherwise, they were going to “Lyotola” oh “Liato-la” the funds…they were going to bury the millions like Liato…let the Chinese just deliver the airport….The MMD failed to delivered what the PF is giving you guys….you will only appreciate when they are long gone….Sha! how long has is taken just to upgrade that thing we call an airport…ask the Ugandans how they remember Amin or Obote…they thought Museveni was better…ke ke ke ke ke…they still have the same old airport 45km away from the capital city…rubbish…you just condemn everything…
Exit Bank if Zambia?