The National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) is responsible for administering and managing all financial resources in the Zambian road sector. The functions of the NRFA includes the administration and management of the Road Fund and recommendations to the Minister on fuel levy and road user charges and tariffs.
The Road Fund is an umbrella fund where all roads levies, licensing fees, fuel levies, loans, grants and donations for the roads and all monies appropriated by Parliament for the roads in Zambia are held. The NRFA may raise money by way of loans to discharge its functions.
The DBSA granted a loan of $262 million in December 2010 for a rehabilitation programme of five roads namely: Kabompo-Chavuma; Chipata-Lundazi; Senanga-Sesheke; Mumbwa-Landless; and Kalulushi-Lufwanyama. The government of Zambia contributed US$90 million. The project is complete.
Zambia is a key transit country in the North-South Corridor, as it borders on eight other countries. The rehabilitation of the Western Corridor will fit into the wider corridor network programme for the region, which will help to unlock the vast unrealised economic potential inland and attract the necessary investment.
The Road Development Agency (RDA) is responsible for the care, maintenance and construction of public roads in Zambia. The principal function of the RDA is to plan, manage and coordinate road network in Zambia, including maintaining the roads, preparation and awarding of contracts for construction and maintenance of the roads and certification of roads and to review design standards and classification of roads and traffic signs. It manages the core road network (CRN) stretching approximately 40 500km.
The RDA implemented the Highway Management System (HMS) in 2009 based on the World Bank highway design and maintenance model standards. Of the CRN, 35 163 km were surveyed (86.8%) with the balance of 4 406 km unsurveyed due to impassability. The results are tabled below:
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Source: RDA
The road status is dependent on roughness index for paved roads and gravel thickness for unpaved roads as per the HMS model. With regards the specific truck roads funded by the DBSA, there are 828 km and form part of the overall paved TMD. Compared to 2007 where they were 8% of paved trunk roads in poor condition, this has been reduced to 1% in 2014, indicating a high level of investment in the past three years. This is the period that the DBSA loan was also disbursed and utilised.