President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared that Zimbabwe co-owns the US$ 260million Kazungula Bridge together with Zambia and Botswana.
Intentions to construct the road and rail bridge were announced in 2007. Actual construction of the bridge over the mighty Zambezi River, however, took off in December 2014 and was completed last year.
Mnangagwa confirmed that the road and rail bridge over the Zambezi River between Zambia and Botswana at Kazungula will be commissioned this month.
He noted that the Bridge was initially a three-nation bridge which later belonged to Zambia and Botswana. Zimbabwe has only just gotten back on board now.
The ambitious bridge provides an alternative to motorists who have for long been using the Beitbridge Border to gain entry into the SADC and vice versa.
The Ministry of Transport & Communications in Botswana had announced earlier that the Kazungula Bridge & one stop border post facilities is set to officially open on Monday 10 2021.
An AfDB report in 2011 observed that the bridge was designed as an extra-dosed road-rail bridge configuration with middle deck sections of 129m, and 4 piers in the river, and a total length of 923m.
Mnangagwa says Zimbabwe will very soon build the road from Kazungula to Victoria Falls, and upgrade its highways.
The AfDB report also noted that Kazungula Bridge would follow a curved alignment layout to avoid the border area in the Zambezi waters between Botswana and Zimbabwe, where the exact border positions have not been ratified.