China Eximbank agrees in principle to provide loan for 235km of TOO5 Road from Manyinga to Mwinilunga and 5 km Urban Roads in Manyinga in Northwestern Province

Project narrative

On July 16, 2016, China CAMC Engineering Co. signed a 36-month commercial contract worth $273,179,080 with Zambia's Road Development Agency (RDA) involving the upgrade to bituminous standard of 214 kilometers of D286 road from Manyinga to Mwinilunga plus 4 kilometers of roads in the North Western Province in Zambia. According to the RDA's 2018 Annual Work Plan, the project seems to have been expanded to include 235km of TOO5 Road from Manyinga to Mwinilunga and 5 km Urban Roads in Northwestern Province. China Eximbank was noted the source of funding, though it is unclear how much financing was provided. The House debate script from October 11, 2017 says "the Road Development Agency (RDA) has completed the engagement of the contractors, but implementation awaits the finalization of the financing agreement by the Ministry of Finance." The Zambian Report on Government Assurances from 2020 states that as of September 2018, the delay in approval for the project's financing was "due to the Government’s decision to indefinitely postpone the contraction of pipeline debt as a measure to address fiscal and debt challenges for sustained macroeconomic stability." According to the RDA's 2020 work plan, construction is ongoing.