Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Hon. Eng. Charles L. Milupi has today commissioned two ACROW Bridges in Lunte and Luwingu Districts in Northern Province.
The Lukulu and Solo ACROW Bridges have been constructed and installed at a combined cost of K15,934,161.54.
Hon. Eng Milupi said the Government plans to construct and install the remaining 27 bridges in Northern Province within the shortest possible time in order to ease connectivity for the people.
He said the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development through the Road Development Agency (RDA) is undertaking a programme under which it will construct and install 131 ACROW Bridges countywide.
“In this regard, a total of 29 crossing points have been identified for construction and installation of ACROW Bridges in Northern Province. Two ACROW Bridges have been successfully constructed and installed, one at solo and another at Lukulu in Lunte District.
“The new dawn Government is committed to ensuring that our people travel safely from one place to another. Through such infrastructure, Government is providing safe and smooth travel experience, and reduced travel time,” he said.
RDA Board Chairperson, Eng. Mulchand Kuntawala said the initiative to construct and install ACROW Bridges was part of the Road Sector Investment Programme being implemented countrywide whose key objective is to construct, rehabilitate, maintain and improve or upgrade the core road network.
Eng. Kuntawala said the main objective of the ACROW Bridge programme is to facilitate easy access to areas that have connectivity challenges in order to bring about cost-effective transportation services for enhanced socio-economic development for citizens in the far-flung rural areas.
“It is our hope that with easier accessibility to market areas, the agricultural activities will be enhanced in these areas and create additional jobs and wealth in this sector,” he said.
He said the ACROW Bridges comprises single and multi-span structures of one and two-lane widths ranging from 12 meters to more than 100 meters in length and were being installed throughout the country by local Zambian engineers, technicians and contractors, trained in the field on assembly, installation and maintenance.
Eng. Kuntawala said the prefabricated steel bridges are well-suited for infrastructure development projects and their modular design allows for easy customization to meet specific site requirements, enabling bridges to be erected in challenging, remote locations.
“Fabricated from high-strength, high-quality steel and hot-dip zinc galvanized to protect against corrosion, ACROW’s premium quality infrastructure solutions are designed to withstand even the most rugged conditions and have a design service life of more than 75 years,” he said.
Eng. Kuntawala said in 2024, the Agency had budgeted for fifteen ACROW Bridges over various water bodies across the country.
Eng. Kuntawala said the Lukulu and Solo Bridge projects involved the assembly and erection of two 700×5 ACROW panel bridges in Lukulu area in Lunte District and Solo area in Luwingu District with clear spans of 27.43 metres and 15.42 metres respectively.
The project was initially awarded to a contractor who commenced the works in November 2019 and executed part of the works before the contract was terminated in 2022. The RDA Provincial office was subsequently funded to complete all the remaining works under force account.
“The works commenced on 30th June 2022 and we are here today to commission these two bridges.”
“We will continue to use our own in-house engineering skills in undertaking these construction works and through the engagement of our all-weather partners, the Zambia National Service (ZNS) and the Zambia Army (ZA). Through this systematic approach we are confident that all the 131 ACROW Bridges will be installed within the available financial resource envelope,” he said.
