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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
NOVEMBER 2015
4
M
embers of the local community,
especially children, never seem to
tire of watching the passing traffic:
that’s because they’re now connected to
Zambia’s national road network.
This follows the upgrade to bituminous stan-
dard of Leopards Hill road (D152) from State
Lodge Junction to Katoba Basic School (junc-
tion of D152/D151/D481) over a distance of
43,8 km in Zambia’s Lusaka province, with
works carried out by China Geo-Engineering
Corporation (CGC). The contract forms part
of the Link Zambia 8 000 Project, which has
set out to upgrade 8 000 km of national road
in the country.
The D152, D481 and D482 form a strate-
gic corridor linking Lusaka and Chirundu via
Chiawa. The road is also the shorter route
to Zimbabwe through Chirundu from Lusa-
ka. It is the objective of the Government of
the Republic of Zambia to improve the link
to Chirundu District by constructing a road
to the Chirundu border of which this recent
CGC contract forms a core section.
Construction works along the D152 be-
tween State Lodge Junction and Katoba
Basic School included the establishment of
a 40 km carriageway with a lane width of
7,5 m together with a north and south bound
3 m shoulder.
CGC started the main works in October 2012
and had completed all phases by November
2013. The biggest challenge faced was the
area’s rough terrain, requiring cuts of more
than 5 m, earth fill of more than 5 m, as well
as rock fill. Notwithstanding the difficulties,
CGC completed all the works ahead of the
intended completion date and there were
no major defects during or after the liability
period.
To support its extensive earthworks require-
ments, which included almost 4 km of rock
fill to depths up to 1,7 m, CGC acquired a se-
ries of Cat hydraulic excavators to fast-track
the construction programme, comprising Cat
320D L and Cat 329D L units, supplied and
supported by Barloworld Equipment Zambia.
(Barloworld Equipment is the Cat dealer for
southern Africa.) This fleet has subsequent-
ly grown to five Cat 329D L’s and three Cat
320D L’s, which are now deployed on new
construction works. (Three Cat units worked
on the D152.)
Previous Link Zambia 8 000 projects – car-
ried out by a separate CGC construction
team – include the upgrade to bituminous
standard of 91 km of the Luangwa Bridge to
Feira (D145) Road in Lusaka Province, which
commenced in February 2013 and was com-
pleted in February 2015. (CGC has six proj-
ect teams working across Zambia, where ac-
tivities outside Lusaka include township road
upgrades in Mongu, Western Province, and
township road upgrades in Kitwe, Copperbelt
Province.)
Meanwhile, the current CGC team responsi-
ble for the D152 phase is now progressing
with a new section, which is a continuation
of the previous works along this undulating
route. This latest project entails the upgrade
to bituminous standard of 98 km of the
CAT CONTRIBUTES TO GRAVEL
ROAD UPGRADES IN ZAMBIA
China Geo-Engineering Corporation’s road projects in Zambia are being
supported by the addition of Cat hydraulic excavators that form a core
component of the construction mix.