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Transport, Works Supply & Communications
Kasama Airport, K 4.9 billion for Solwezi Airport, K
4.2 billion for Mansa Airport, K 0.5 billion for Nyang-
we Airstrip in Lundazi District, and K0.6 billion for
Serenje and Senanga aerodromes.
The focus of Government in Airport infrastructure
development in 2010 had been the development of
Kasaba Bay in Northern Province by expanding and
rehabilitating the runway and extending the terminal
building in order to bring the Airport to international
standards and encourage long haul traffic to land in
Kasaba Bay and bring in tourists to the tourist sites
such as Nsumbu national park in the region. The Na-
tional park remains one of the most under-explored
but rich in biodiversity, and thus, offers tourists un-
paralleled bush scenery.
Other works have been done at Kasama (Terminal
building), and Mansa (Control tower and terminal
building). Solwezi Airport, which services the Mining
firms, will be developed under a PPP.
At a policy level, it is the intention of Government
to create capacity by the Civil Aviation Authority to
regulate the sector, and has embarked on an am-
bitious training program for its staff. Government is
also in the process of upgrading the Civil Aviation
legislation to ensure that it meets international and
regional standards.
RAIL TRANSPORT
The Zambian railway systems consists of two railway
truck, namely Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ)
which runs from Livingstone in Southern Province
linking the Zimbabwe Railway systems to Sakania
on the DRC border via Lusaka and Kapiri Mposhi
and the jointly owned Tanzania-Zambia Railways
(TAZARA), running from Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania
to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia to join the RSZ line.
As part of government’s privatization policy, in 2003
Zambia Railways was taken over by Railway Sys-
tems of Zambia (RSZ), a consortium comprising
New Limpopo Project Investments (NLPI). The ob-
jectives of the concession were to allow the private
sector to inject capital into the company to improve
its competitiveness and help divert traffic from roads
to rail, thereby reducing overall transport costs. The
concession is a long-term agreement, comprising
a 20-year lease period with an option to renew for
a further ten years. Though the performance of the
concession has been unsatisfactory thus far, Gov-
ernment has continued to engage the concession-
aire to increase the level of investment in infrastruc-
ture, communication, signalling, and rolling stock to
improve performance and provide the required com-
petition to the road transport sector, which presently
is the dominant mode.
Further liberalization within the transport industry
has seen the private sector involved in the con-
struction of a number of railways on a build, oper-
ate, and transfer basis. The opening of mines in the
North-Western Province – particularly Lumwana
mine, which is one of the largest copper mines in
Africa – is also spurring infrastructure development.
Some investors have expressed a strong desire to
construct a railway line from Lumwana via Kasempa
and Mongu to Sesheke District, to join the Namib-
ian railway network at Katima Mulilo. The aim is to
transport mineral products via the Namibian ports at
Cape Feira or Walvis.
On the other hand, the Chipata-Mchinji railway line
will provide Zambia with its shortest sea route to the
Indian Ocean port of Nacala in Mozambique was
commissioned and finalized in August 2010.
Railway Systems of Zambia
Government has embarked on a number of reforms in
the rail subsector, realizing that the continued reliance
on the Road transport sector is unsustainable because
of the frequent need for repairs of the road network
infrastructure. A huge sum of money is spent annu-
ally to revamp the road network, something that never
actually comes to pass. The government is revising
the railway act to make it compatible with the prevail-
ing circumstances in the industry such as concessions
and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). The revised
act will also transform Zambia Railways Limited into
an Asset holding company, managing all Government
railway assets. It will also strengthen the safety over-
sight role of the Inspector of Government Railways.
In order to facilitate the development and mainte-
nance of new and existing railway infrastructure,