Capital Equipment News November 2015

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.

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

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.

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS NOVEMBER 2015 4