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.