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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
NOVEMBER 2015
5
D481/D482 road from Katoba to Chirundu
via Chiawa. The contract commenced in May
2015 with a scheduled completion date of
November 2017.
This project is divided into three stages of
which the middle portion comprises an ap-
proximately 17 km section in mountainous
terrain that has not yet been awarded and is
pending finalisation of the scoping report by
Zambia’s Road Development Agency (RDA).
At this stage, CGC’s current scope entails
81 km of road (featuring a 6,5 km carriage-
way and a north and south bound 3 m shoul-
der): the first 15 km starting from Katoba to
the foot of the mountain; and the third 66 km
portion commencing on the other side and
heading to Chirundu.
As on the D152, the condition of the existing
gravel road is poor. The current total width
on the D481/D482 is between 3 to 4 m and
provides limited accessibility for non-four
wheel drive vehicles, especially during the
rainy season, which is in-between the sum-
mer months from November to April each
year.
Over the present 81 km route award-
ed to date, CGC will be sourcing around
540 000 m³ of aggregates from quarries
established in the area. The 200 mm sub-
base layer on the D481/D482 will be cement
stabilised using CGC’s rotary mixers.
Work since May 2015 has focused on the
initial 5 km section handed over by the RDA,
and construction is progressing well as CGC
tackles the challenges of completing exten-
sive excavations in the marshy ground condi-
tions characteristic of this area. These large-
scale excavations then need to be filled with
rock to the level of the new road base. Here,
alongside its Cat units for bulk earthworks,
CGC is employing local labour for the rock
fill placement. Cut to spoil quantities will be
around 700 000 m³ for the current 81 km
contract.
To meet material requirements, a fleet of up
to 60 tipper trucks is being deployed: 25 for
aggregate and asphalt delivery, and the bal-
ance for earthworks.
To date, CGC reports excellent availability on
its Cat hydraulic excavators, which form a
core component in the multi-faceted earth-
works programmes, as well as in the truck
loading operation.
CGC, established in 1982 and headquar-
tered in Beijing, has been part of Zambia’s
built environment landscape since 1998,
with a dedicated focus on road construc-
tion. According to US based Engineering
News-Record’s Top 250 International Con-
tractors Survey, China Geo-Engineering
Corporation is ranked in 215
th
position. The
company has 23 overseas branches, with a
major presence across the African continent,
where CGC continues to establish vital infra-
structure projects.
For Zambia, the Link 8000 (also known as
the Accelerated National Roads Construction
Programme) is a socio-economic initiative
that will ‘transform Zambia into a truly land-
linked country in the sub-region’ via a world
class asphalt pavement network.
b
COVER STORY