Chalwe, Haut-Katanga, The Democratic Republic of Congo, October 3 – His Excellency President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema of the Republic of Zambia (Zambia) united to break ground at the future bridge site on the Luapula River. This marks a historic milestone in the Kasomeno-Mwenda Toll Road Project, the largest single private infrastructure investment from Europe into Africa by the Project sponsor, Duna Aszfalt Zrt., a Hungarian construction company.
Hon. Eng. Charles l. Milupi, Minister of Infrastructure, housing and Urban development stated, “I pledge that we will coordinate and jointly work with my counterpart Hon. Alexis Gizaro Muvuni from the DRC to deliver this strategic infrastructure project at the earliest possible time, at the quality of international standard”.
The KMTR project is an exemplar multinational public-private partnership (PPP) model that positions DRC and Zambia for sustainable economic growth through world class engineering expertise, tolling technology and modern infrastructure. GED Africa’s flagship project, is the result of extensive bilateral cooperation and the unwavering support of both administrations.
Our local partners, Agence Congolaise des Grands Travaux (ACGT) and the Zambia Road Development Agency, share in the commitment to creating positive, long term socio-economic impact through employment opportunities, local trade facilitation, and skills transfer. ACGT Managing Director, Nico Nzau Nzau added, “This project meets the ambition to improve the flow of the road network and the socio- economic conditions”.
GED Africa pledged an additional multimillion dollar sustainable impact fund to be distributed over the tenor of the concession period, across various health care, education, and social infrastructure initiatives in the Projects’ host communities.
The new route, including a 345 meter cable-stayed bridge, will reduce the roundtrip for commercial transporters from Haut-Katanga’s booming mining sector to the port of Dar es Salaam by approximately 500 kilometres. By combining shorter distances with DRC’s first one stop border post, this new pathway to the East will unlock regional potential and create economic prosperity for all stakeholders.
GED Africa’s CEO, Klaus Findt, added, “GED Africa and Duna Aszfalt are proud to announce the finalisation of the border post agreement a this is a critical next step. We are strategically utilising the upcoming rainy season to fine tune the engineering designs with our partners so that major works can commence as planned”.
About GED Africa Ltd
GED Africa Limited (“GED Africa”) is the investment and project management company of the Kasomeno-Mwenda Toll Road Project (“Project”), which is a ground breaking infrastructure project combining two 25-year Public-Private Partnership concessions between the subsidiaries of GED Africa Ltd and the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Zambia under separate concession agreements.
The Project consists of the following main elements:
- Modernization, construction and expansion of 184km of road highway.
- Construction of a 345m cable-stayed bridge over the border at the Luapula river.
- Construction of a one-stop border posts with accompanying warehousing and parking facilities.
- Delivery of a tolling system and the associated infrastructure and
- Social infrastructure for community development.
About the Project Sponsor, The Duna Group:
The Duna Group is a Hungarian conglomerate that owns several infrastructure development and construction companies. Duna Aszfalt Zrt., is the largest construction division in the Duna Group and is responsible for the execution of some of Hungary’s most innovative infrastructure developments.
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