| Japanese (日本語)

在ザンビア日本国大使館
　Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Zambia

Ground-Breaking Ceremony of the Project for the Improvement of the Living Environment in the Southern Area of Lusaka (Inner Ring Road)

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The ground- breaking ceremony for the Project for the Improvement of the Living Environment in the Southern Area of Lusaka (Inner Ring Road) in Lusaka City was held on 26 April 2013, through a grant aid that was extended by the Government of Japan to the Republic of Zambia, amounting to 28.3 million USD (approximately, 150 million Zambian Kwacha Rebased).

 

Dignitaries present at the event included His Excellency Mr. Akio Egawa, Ambassador of Japan to Republic of Zambia, Hon. Emerine Kabanshi, MP, Minister of Local Government and Housing, His Worship Daniel Chisenga, Mayor of Lusaka City.

 

As Zambia occupies a strategic, central location in the Sothern African region, its capital Lusaka is a hub of the regional road network with three radiating roads, which are the arteries of economy in the region. These include the Kafue Road, forming a part of the North-South corridor, which leads from the city to Zimbabwe and South Africa; the Great North Road, a part of the Lobito corridor, leading to the Democratic Republic of Congo; and the Great East Road, a part of the Nacala corridor, extending from east to west in Zambia and leading to Malawi and Mozambique. For inbound traffic, all these roads narrow to their end in Lusaka City, where heavy freight vehicles compete with passenger cars to make traffic congestion on the current road network extremely challenging. Furthermore, there are anxieties about such situations, which in the long run might hinder the progress of economic development of Zambia and the region as a whole.

 

The Inner Ring Road brings the mitigation of traffic congestion in Lusaka and will contribute towards more efficient transport in the Southern African region. Furthermore, as it is designed to be connected to the Lusaka South Multi Facilities Economic Zone (LS-MFEZ)*, it is hoped that the completion of the Inner Ring Road will promote the development of the LS-MFEZ, which would accelerate industrial development and thus create jobs and lead to wealth creation among the people.

 

It is hoped the road will become a true symbol of continued friendship between Japan and Zambia and that it will positively serve the needs of the people for many years to come.

 

To read the speech by Ambassador Egawa at this ceremony, please click here.

 

*LS-MFEZ: The special industrial zone which promotes foreign investment by offering some concessions through the provision of tax exemptions under stipulated conditions, thereby uplifting and revitalising of domestic industries.

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