By BRIAN HATYOKA –

GOVERNMENT is ready to handover 40 houses which have been constructed for Lumbo Villagers in Kazungula who will be displaced during the construction of a permanent bridge at the border with Botswana, Kazungula District Commissioner Pascalina Musokotwane has said.
Ms Musokotwane said in an interview yesterday that 40 houses and a school had been fully constructed and they would be handed over to Lumbo Villagers next month.
“We will have an official handover of 40 houses and a school to Lumbo villagers on August 12, 2014,” she said.
The ground-breaking ceremony to mark the construction of a permanent bridge at Kazungula Border is expected to take place on August 13, this year.
The bridge would boost trade and other economic activities between Zambia and other countries in Southern Africa.
In March this year, three companies were shortlisted to bid for the construction of a permanent bridge at Kazungula Border.
The three companies, which were part of the 26 entities that expressed interest to participate in the project, were China Major Bridge Engineering Corporation, Shimizu- Stefanuti Joint Venture and Daewoo E & R.
The proposed Kazungula Bridge and Railway is a multi-million dollar project on the North-South Corridor and it is specifically located at the border between Botswana and Zambia on the Zambezi River in Kazungula.
Civil works comprise the construction of 923 metres long by 18.5 metres wide rail-road Bridge, two one-stop border facilities and access roads as well as ramps across Zambezi River.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), African Development Bank (AfDB) as well as the Governments of Zambia and Botswana are expected to finance the project.