Brian Mwale
ZNBC News
Minister of Infrastructure, Housing, and Urban Development, CHARLES MILUPI says Government wants to deliver all commercially viable infrastructure, energy projects, and public services through Public Private Partnerships -PPP.
Mr. MILUPI says Government is leveraging partnerships with the private sector to reduce fiscal pressure and use the savings on projects of economic importance which are not commercially viable to attract private investment.
He says President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, a proponent of PPPs, believes that engaging the private sector is a smart and sure way of delivering infrastructure projects owing to the efficiency and capacity to deliver projects on time.
Mr. MILUPI adds that despite the Government having inherited a huge debt burden from the previous Government, it has embarked on the construction and rehabilitation of some public roads and bridges using the Public Private Partnership financing model.
He cites the Chingola -Chililabombwe Road and the Lusaka – Ndola dual carriage way as some major roads being done under PPP.
And in the Energy sector, the Minister says Zambia has implemented four projects using a PPP model reiterating that the sector is attracting billions of dollars worth of investment.
Mr. MILUPI was speaking during the 4th Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental and Interregional Infrastructure and Energy in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
The Minister reaffirmed Zambia’s Commitment to strengthening ties with neighboring countries in delivery of quality infrastructure projects with a view to integrating the continent.
And The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa-UNECA – commended Zambia for being among the six countries in Africa that are successfully spearheading the initiative for PPP in Infrastructure development.
UNECA Chief Energy, Infrastructure and Services section of the Private Sector Development and Finance Division, ROBERT LISINGE commended Zambia for taking the lead and ensuring that infrastructure development is not left entirely in the hands of the Govern
ent.
And African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Dr. AMANI ABOU-ZEID urged Member states to support the Continental Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa -PIDA- which promotes the development of priority regional and continental in
rastructure in transport, energy, transboundary water, and ICT.
The 4th Ordinary session was held under the theme Accelerating Infrastructure to deliver on Agenda 2063 Aspirations.
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