President Edgar Lungu is this Friday expected to commission the expansion of the 1.2 Billion U.S Dollar Great North Road into Lusaka -Ndola dual carriage way.
The Contractor has mobilised equipment and works on some sections of the road have already started.
And the Road Development Agency-RDA- says the Lusaka -Ndola dual carriage way will make travel on the road safer and quicker.
RDA Acting Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs Anthony Mulowa says the road will have several features such as bypasses and take on works on the Masangano road in Luanshya.
Meanwhile motorists have welcomed government’s decision to expand the Great -North Road into a dual carriage way.
Why is it costing $1.2bn yet it goes thru mostly cheap uninhabited scrublands ? Tenderpreneurs at work maybe?
Where are the sun glasses? The other day he was wearing sunglasses indoors,
Tali nipanse bafwala?
off topic, this is a file photo
whats the duration of this project,
He should be made district commissioner.
GOOD. HOWEVER, THIS IS A LOT OF MONEY. THEREFORE, IT MUST BE A PROPER, ‘GERMANY’, DUAL CARRIAGEWAY. WITH MOST OF THE OVERHEAD SIGNS ELECTRONI AND PROPERLY SIGNED SURFACE SIGNS AND HIGH AND HIGHLY CONSPICUOUS ROAD-SIDES BOARDS. IT MUST ALSO INCORPORATE NOT ONLY ORDINARY BRIDGES BUT ALSO PEDESTRIAN FLYOVER BRIDGES WHERE VILLAGES ARE.ETC, ETC, ETC.
Tarring one kilometre costs $1,000,000…
$1.2 million per kilometer, its world record!…. I never seen any mountain between Lusaka and Kitwe. Not even a river.
Another grossly overpriced, behind schedule project…how can a road cost that much?
Imwe ba UPND musabailafye on everything. you’re not even engineers to comment on the cost of construction simply because you don’t under it. Give credit where it is due, our people are dying every day on this highway and you saying is bla bla bla bla unless it’s your HH. Show us what your HH has done. THis is the good gesture for country and everyone must support it.
‘Bout time!
@ OFF TOPIC.
That’s a ‘FILE’ depiction as indicated right below it.
A case of poor reading skills or simply having a biased perception towards Lungu.
The new lane will be done together with bridges and then the old lane will be reconstructed.
I guess that is why it is at $1.2 billion
1.2 billon is a lot of money…not even the Kalabo road with 70% bridges and swamp cost that much and its overpriced – you have been seeing $ millions in papers and you think one million is not enough.
This is daylight robbery…
Bigboss ok but do you realize this project …just one road is costing us about 6% of GDP ???
It would be more ok if it was Tz ,Kenya or Angola which have much bigger economies.
@Jay Jay, sometimes your constant criticisms of Govt effort is way off target. I would rather have you ask the actual specifications of this project before issuing your “usual” predictable criticism. Remember, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR. In other words, CHEAP CAN BE VERY EXPENSIVE in the long run. If you want quality projects/infrastructure such roads, airports, electricity/energy supply, Stadiums, etc, you have to be willing to pay (I mean pay good money) for them.
QUALITY AIN’T CHEAP!!!!!
Politics aside.this is a fantastic move.
You are going to pay for this..what politics!!
Its this docility that is getting us no where!!
Then donate a quality road for us @Jay Jay, and we will all go clap, clap, clap, clap for you! As they say, there is no ‘free lunch’, is there?
What 1.2 billion….. For a dual carriage! You could build a 350mw coal plant, new terminal at kk plus hotels and a new advanced uth hospital…… Surly the writer has skipped info or some cadres hav just won the lottery
Ask yourselves how much is charged per kilometer of the road, off course putting into consideration the width, thickness, material used and other things put such as bypasses, bridges etc?
Only then will you know that it can gobble such an amount, don’t dwell in areas which is not your specialty, let us confine our arguments sometimes to things we are qualified in.
I know what am talking about as i am familar with this sector…either a typing error or grossly overpriced.
C’mon observer ,but 6% of GDP spent on a single road?
Good one #5…the observer. Some people will oppose everything that government does just for the sake of opposing even when they don’t have knowledge over the issue…!
Forgive them boss. Democracy is noisy.
60km ndola-kitwe road 6yrs and the road is still incomplete. Kaya how long ndola-lusaka will take. Maybe 50yrs.
Dununa Dununa iwe…ayeeeeeeeee Dununa iwe Dununa reverse…Ala bambi balimichibe…ala bambi bola naoikosa…x2 via singing and dancing
THE MIGHTY PF AT WORK…SELAKO TUBOMBEKO….ati there’s no law and order in Zambia? Kwamene uko!!!!!! Leave our peaceful and beautiful Zambia alone
2021 vote PF (Edgar)
I thank you
1mbecile, how can you commission the road which has not be completed? Forget about law and order in Zambia, learn instead English before showing your inbreed 1mbecility.
Looo Looo Looo x2
But this man where are ministers and councilors to do this work,mwibantu
@8
You just shut up aala!
2021 vote PF (Edgar )
I thank you
P:S He is not “this man” he is the President of the Republic of Zambia. Ulekwata umuchinshi iwe pompwe
@8
What’s “mwibantu”…are you from across Chikankata…with your vocabulary yes you sound like one…
2021 it’s President Edgar Lungu again
I thank you
@8
“Mwibantu”….what is it that you trying to tell us..did you mean “Chibwantu”….yes you probably drink too much of it i guess
2021 vote PF ( Edgar)
I thank you
Who is the contractor? AVIC? I just hope it won’t take as long as the Kitwe-Chingola road dual carriageway. This is the way to go. Thumbs to the government of the day!
Thumbs up
Should the president really be commissioning these roadworks. I think its a waste of time and money. Lets just get to work and get things done. Chingola roadworks have been commissioned and thats all that has been done. All that jet fuel that was used to come to chingola should not have been bought. That money should have been given to the contractors for road works. Zambian politics are taking money from the citizens and its being used to buy the citizens hearts. What a shame.
But where is the money going to come from? $1.2 billion!!!
That’s a very expensive road. What are they putting on the surface asphalt or gold? At the $1m per kilometer we should putting a dual carriage all the way from Livingstone to Kitwe.
kkkkk, ama zedians, ati asphalt or GOLD
Politics aside-this is a splendid decision by PF Govnt because Zambians will be moving faster to copperbelt and beyond,plus more lives will be saved.please keep it up!!
All dreamers in opposition must know that a working Govnt cannot be removed from office by voters.so i can surely say that if PF Govnt completes this project and many other before 2021,HH will just waste his money and time by contesting 2021 elections!!PF’S ECL WILL KOLOPA VOTES IN 2021!!PLEASE PF,KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BALL (BIG PROJECTS) BECAUSE WE SHALL SURELY REWARD YOU IN 2021!!!
BRAVO ECL AND GO PF GO!!
I cant see die hard upnd rats such as “spaka like lilo” here.kikikikiki,am sure they know that such projects push HH far away from state house!!!BUT THEY MUST WAIT BECAUSE PRESIDENT EDGAR LUNGU MEANS BUSINESS!!!
You said politics aside in your opening statement. But your post is a political vomit.
Who will pay for this …its no wonder road tax you pay is misappropriated because of corruption!!
Progressive as it actually is, we welcome it, as for the cost it depends on what kind of work and material that will be used. For me , come April I will drive up that road. If shod work is what they intend to do and Steal the money, we will not only expose them but we’ll commit them to the gallows. Let that not escape their notice
Very sensible and mature way of looking at issues. Unlike the likes of @Jay Jay…..just criticism, criticism, criticism, without any point to it!
If Chingola / Kitwe road can take more than 5 years to complete, then we expect the Lusaka / Copperbelt road to be completed in more than 25 years going by these Chinese Fake Contractors who are sharing the spoils with the PF.
The expansion of the Great North Road is a welcome move as it shall easy the movement of vehicles to and from each destination along the said road. I have one concern, that of the many old men and women who are struggling to survive because the Government has not paid them their terminal benefits. While the road works can be delayed, the person’s life CANNOT. Please consider slowing down on these projects and clear this problem for once. A mistake of a leader is a leading mistake. GRZ must be seen to be doing things accordingly and not just pronouncements.
Well done PF
An excellent link between Copperbelt International Airport and Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is good news. There is need for an enjoyable and comfortable drive between Ndola and Lusaka. The cities on the same route, such as Chisamba or Kabwe or Kapirimposhi will also benefit from quality routes.
Have we completed the Kitwe-Chingola road? Awe yakokola. Palya ba Sata bachitile commision…. Na Pedicle, Chingola solwezi. Remove heavy trucks on the roads and put them on the railways. Good move. We need better/morden infrastructure
@16 Pink toe, I totally agree with you. Please if PF is a listening gvt, pay off all the retirees, mind the wastages and pay off the retirees who have been crying year in year out . Be economical and forward we go.
Credit must be given to the Zambian leadership for this venture. Its time this happened to reduce deaths on our roads. As a matter of fact, its been long overdue.
Not even a M1 in England that distance would cost that much with all that signage!!
@Jay Jay, please know that there is a lot of factors that to the cost of a project. You talking about England who, in all likelihood, have everything that go into building such colossal projects locally sourced. Things such as Skills, Expertise, Machinery, even finances. Yes, Finances! Because it costs money to get financed! Even regulations (either streamlined or not) can add to the cost of projects. Also the risk (political and otherwise) assessment by the contractor for undertaking such a large capital investment project in a place/Country without a long history of such a huge investment has a price tag and is factored into the total cost of a project. Especially if you are relying on foreign financing. How thick can you really be to compare England to Zambia with this in mind? And you…
continue:
… And you say you are familiar with such project undertakings? I doubt it!
Lusaka – Ndola is just 316 km .So at a cost of $1.2bn it comes to $3.78 million per kilometer …the costs is scandalous.
@Enka, do you want to know why so that if we tell you why it is costing $1.2 billion, you will add $200,000? If not, keep quiet!
@JJ your small brains will never appreciate whatever the president will do! It comes from your Namwala corrupted worldview!
Hazaluza Hagain! He is a friend to the one who plants evil! He is a Mason!
The idea of a dual carriage way is most welcome!! But the unit cost of $3.78 million per km is not acceptable. We have been duped. Was the contract awarded after a transparent competitive bidding? Is this a loan with the conditions that the Loan giver supplies the road designers as well as the contractors? Could we have got a cheaper loan from other financial institutions like the African Development Bank, or the Arab Bank with a very low interest rate?
Surely that’s an overpriced road padded with kickbacks and designed with fraud .That’s $1.2bn invested in thieves and portions of it will be washed away by floods as always.
Don’t always politicize important issues, its high time you got serious bachi mbwi development is needed in any colour attract investors. Big up PF
Good idea. But with every good intention, it seems that’s where ways of exploitation lie. I ve been on this road 3 times a month for the last 6 years, the road from Kabwe to kapiri has been done and redone 3 times in 3 years, now there will come another to go through it and put up a new one and obviously because it is dual carriage, the weigh bridge area at kapiri is already deteriorating send will require to be redone as well as the toll gates…now spends like that …. with all this developments happening, I still see lots of yourths lucking jobs because the chinose have a way of not empowering locals and emphasis on externalisation because they understand that you do divide and rule in Africa and it works…….it’s hard to understand and African mind?