upepo
Elder Lister
A gleaming piece of Japanese engineering straddles the Zambezi River, linking Zambia and Botswana. This is the US$259.3 million Kazungula Bridge, measuring 923 meters long by 18.5 meters wide. The construction, which began in 2014, was officially completed on 10th May 2021, opening the bridge to traffic. For many years to come, this bridge will be a good example of the costs that citizens pay when political egos soar unchecked.
One notable characteristic of the bridge, which incidentally enhances its aesthetics, is the long curve it makes at it crosses the river. There is a sad and costly story behind this curvature, which makes the bridge almost twice as long as it should have been had it taken the shortest straight path across. Here is the story.
The river crossing at Kazungula was originally served by ferries and barges. However, the crossing traffic from the four countries was often overwhelming, resulting in costly delays for goods transport. This bottleneck necessitated the creation of a bridge. Originally, the plan was to have the countries of Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia contribute equally to put up the bridge. Presumably, Namibia was left out due to its meager traffic through the crossing.
Unfortunately, President Mugabe of Zimbabwe was not in favour of the project, leaving Botswana and Zambia to go it alone. As such, the bridge had to be curved to avoid encroaching a few meters into Zimbambwean bush land. If Zimbabwe had donated the few meters of land next to the bridge, it would have shaved off millions of dollars from the cost of the bridge. This money could have been put to alternative use. Now that the bridge has been completed, President Munangagwa of Zimbabwe has indicated that his country will contribute a third of the construction costs to become a full partner in the project.
One notable characteristic of the bridge, which incidentally enhances its aesthetics, is the long curve it makes at it crosses the river. There is a sad and costly story behind this curvature, which makes the bridge almost twice as long as it should have been had it taken the shortest straight path across. Here is the story.
The river crossing at Kazungula was originally served by ferries and barges. However, the crossing traffic from the four countries was often overwhelming, resulting in costly delays for goods transport. This bottleneck necessitated the creation of a bridge. Originally, the plan was to have the countries of Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia contribute equally to put up the bridge. Presumably, Namibia was left out due to its meager traffic through the crossing.
Unfortunately, President Mugabe of Zimbabwe was not in favour of the project, leaving Botswana and Zambia to go it alone. As such, the bridge had to be curved to avoid encroaching a few meters into Zimbambwean bush land. If Zimbabwe had donated the few meters of land next to the bridge, it would have shaved off millions of dollars from the cost of the bridge. This money could have been put to alternative use. Now that the bridge has been completed, President Munangagwa of Zimbabwe has indicated that his country will contribute a third of the construction costs to become a full partner in the project.
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