Kazungula OSBP officially begins operations

The Kazungula bridge is a 925m long bridge connecting Zambia and Botswana that will replace the existing ferry service in ensuring the movement of people and cargo from one edge to the other of the Zambezi river.

Officially launched in September 2014, the bridge is considered by the SADC Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP) a missing link in the North-South Corridor (NSC), a route that is strategically relevant for the SADC Region, as it links some landlocked (e.g. Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe) or semi-landlocked (e.g. Democratic Republic of Congo) countries to the port of Durban in South Africa, so enhancing the economic integration in the area.

The Kazungula bridge project includes a “One Stop Border Post (OSBP)” (for more information about OSBP read pur post), with juxtaposed facilities developed on the two edges of the river that mirror each other, which will enable travellers and goods to stop only once when crossing the border between the two countries.

On 27 April 2021, a bilateral agreement was also signed between Botswana and Zambia for the operationalization of the Kazungula OSBP.

The government of Botswana announced in a press statement (see hereunder) that both the bridge and the one-stop border post facilities will be officially opened to the public on 10 May 2021.