Plans for Kazungula bridge promote Botswana hub

There are strong moves afoot to create a regional transport hub in Botswana, and the construction of a Kazungula bridge is a key element of the plan. According to Arup Transport Planning senior transport economist Crynos Mutendera, the project has progressed to the design phase. Currently a ferry is the only option at Kazungula, and this has been a bottleneck over the years. “The thinking is that once you have a bridge you would eliminate that kind of constraint and generate more in terms of freight traffic. “And economic assessments show that even if traffic is tolled to offset the cost to the fiscus, the project will still generate a positive return and so increase GDP.” According to Mutendera, a French company has been contracted to undertake the design work. “Initially it was a threecountry project, but when Zimbabwe withdrew we had to shift the position of the bridge and that delayed the process. It is now a joint project between Botswana and Zambia, with Namibia hopefully coming on board as well. “Initially it was planned as a road bridge, but they’re now considering incorporating rail which has added further delays.” But the project is definitely on its way to practical implementation, he added.