MAINTAINING BRIDGES TO STRENGTHEN TIES

JICA Zambia’s Infrastructure sector comprises support to projects in both physical infrastructure development and capacity development of implementation partner agencies.

One such project is “the Bridge Maintenance Capacity Building Project Phase II (Technical Cooperation)”, which has been under implementation from March 2019 and will run to March 2024. The purpose of the Project is to improve bridge maintenance operations by strengthening daily operations, repair and inspection techniques related to bridge maintenance at The Road Development Agency (RDA), a statutory body that was established through the Public Roads Act No. 12 of 2002, which provides for the care, maintenance, and construction of public roads in Zambia. It is becoming increasingly important to systematize the maintenance of bridges in Zambia because of their advancing age, increasing traffic volumes, heavy weight of vehicles and various modes of structural aging and deterioration. It is necessary to consider appropriate bridge maintenance strategies and tools.

To enhance the capacity of Zambian road managers (RDA engineers) and contractors in bridge repair work, the Project dispatches Japanese engineers to Zambia and undertakes scheduled On-The-Job (OJT) trainings at select bridges (Kafue Bridge, Rufunsa Bridge, Victoria Falls Bridge etc.) in the country. Through this on-the-job training, the RDA engineers and contractors learn about the different types of repairs and gain know-how and experience. The Project also facilitates training in Japan for RDA engineers to expose them to bridges and equipment that the country may consider as it plans to embrace new technology and improve bridges and bridge related infrastructure. Now, these engineers share what they learned in Japan to other engineers in Zambia.

Zambia still has huge needs in the infrastructure sector. Not only the building of new facilities but also maintaining the existing facilities is required to meet the deficit. The Project contributes to longer operation of existing bridges and reduction of life-cycle cost through holistic approach, including training facilitated by JICA experts where seminars, workshops and site visitations are held.