| Zimbabwe falls out of planned four-nation bridge |
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| Written by Staff Reporters | |
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Namibia, Zambia and Botswana have opted to built a joint bridge over the Zambezi River without Zimbabwe, which is currently engrossed in a border dispute with Botswana, the Ministry of Information and Communication technology said this week.
The four countries share borders at Kazungula.
The countries had agreed to construct the bridge after feasibility studies were conducted in 2001 and 2006.
They signed a Memorandum of Understanding, but it has not been implemented because of border problems between Botswana and Zimbabwe, the ministry said in a statement. “The African Development Bank, as funding agent for the project, is unwilling to continue with the project if the border dispute between Botswana and Zimbabwe is not resolved,” the statement said. The statement said, to avoid losing the funds due to border dispute, Botswana and Zambia opted for an alternative route that traverses Namibian waters for a distance of less than 100 metres. “A meeting of SADC Ministers of Works and Transport held in April 2008 indicated that the bridge will be a SADC project from which all SADC countries, except Mauritius and Madagascar, will benefit,” the statement said. Namibia has proposed to explore the possibility of linking Impalila Island to the Kazungula Bridge. It has also indicated its willingness to finance part of the study if consultations indicate that the linkage to the bridge is necessary, the statement said. Impalila Island forms the northeastern tip of Namibia and lies 70 km west of the Victoria Falls. |
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