Kazungula Bridge is a road and rail bridge over the

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

between the countries of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

at the town of

Kazungula Kazungula is a small border town in Zambia, lying on the north bank of the Zambezi River about west of Livingstone on the M10 Road. At Kazungula, the territories of four countries (Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia) come close to meeti ...

. The by bridge has a longest span of and links the town of

in Zambia with Botswana. The bridge features a single-line railway track between two traffic lanes and walkways for pedestrians. Before the bridge was opened for traffic in May 2021, direct traffic between the two countries was possible only by

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

. The bridge takes advantage of the short border the two countries share at the river, and is curved to avoid the nearby borders of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

History

In August 2007 the governments of Zambia and Botswana announced a deal to construct a bridge to replace the existing ferry. Kazungula_Bridge_Map

Construction of the US$259.3 million project, which includes international border facilities in Zambia and Botswana officially began on 12 October 2014 and was completed on 10 May 2021 by the South Korean construction firm Daewoo E&C. Opening was delayed due to transport issues affected by the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic. Construction was financed by the

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

and the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

. The proposed

Mosetse–Kazungula–Livingstone Railway The Mosetse–Kazungula–Livingstone Railway is a prospected cape gauge international railway connecting the Botswana railway network at Mosetse, Botswana with the Zambian railway network at Livingstone, Zambia over the new Kazungula Brid ...

is expected to be constructed via the Kanzungula Bridge.Zambia, Botswana to construct railway across Zambezi
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References

{{Reflist International bridges Bridges in Zambia Bridges in Botswana Botswana–Zambia border crossings Bridges over the Zambezi River Road-rail bridges Bridges completed in 2021

History

See also

References