The Road Development Agency (RDA) says works on the 233-million-kwacha World Bank funded Kavalamanja R220 Road project in Luangwa District will commence soon after finishing the road works currently underway in Rufunsa District.
Road Development Agency OPRC Package 19B Contract Project Engineer Mwaka Chilala says the contract that will be undertaken by Sinohydro Bureau 5 in joint venture with Sinohydro Cooperation will be expedited with the aim of completing the works within the shortest period.
Mr Chilala was speaking when a team from RDA, the consultant, the contractor, Luangwa Town Council, and Luangwa District Administration visited the road site.
Mr Chilala said the contract for the Kavalamanja Road project was signed in August 2025, and that preparatory underground works, including road design, have since been undertaken.
“We have been busy designing the road because this project is a design and build and also considering the environmental and social safety measures that are also being put in place,” he said.
Mr Chilala explained that the project duration was from August 2025 to November 2027 but said everything was being put in place to ensure that the road works were completed by December 2026.
Sinohydro Bureau 5 Road Manager, Heaven Chen said the company was currently winding up road works in Rufunsa where they started from but will start mobilisation for the Luangwa project by next week.
Mr Chen said his target was to complete the project by December 2026 so that the road could be used by locals and tourists who visit lodges along the Zambezi River.
Meanwhile, Feira Member of Parliament Emmanuel Tembo said the Kavalamanja Road was not just a key tourism road but also an economic infrastructure that farmers used to ferry their farm produce to other parts of the district.
Mr Tembo explained that the construction of the road was long overdue because, according to the financial agreement by World Bank, December 2026 was the deadline for the completion of the road works in Luangwa.
“We would not want financial entanglements when the deadline approaches; hence, the need for the contractor to expedite their works and ensure that the project is done by end of 2026.
And Luangwa Town Council Chairperson Lawrence Shaba explained that the council was compelled to start working on the bad spots of the road due to the delay of the contractor to mobilise on site and commence the works.
Mr Shaba said the council was granted permission to work on the road using an allocation from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to avoid Kavalamanja Community from being cut off during this rain season, as well as to enable a smooth movement of vehicles that will be heading to Kavalamanja Memorial Commemoration taking place next month.
He further said the contractor through the RDA would properly work on the entire road according to their planned design once they were on site.
