The Concrete Manufacturing Association (CMA) has revealed that the Zambian government has embarked on a roads rehabilitation and infrastructure improvement programme.

Part of the programme entails ‘Pave Zambia’, the upgrading ofsome 2 000 km of gravel roads using concrete block paving (CBP). In addition, 90 km of pavements and paths will be surfaced with CBP.

Pave Zambia is being financed by the Zambian Road Development Agency and the initial phase, which focuses on inner-city and urban roads as opposed to inter-city roads, kicks off during the second half of 2013.

The government plans to make each of its 10 provinces self-sufficient in road construction, both in terms of equipment and construction capability, and Zambia’s National Construction Council has introduced a training programme to teach SME operators how to build urban roads using CBP.