Engineers urges stricter supervision on public private partnership projects after Ndola-Sakanya highway develops potholes

The Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) has called for stronger professional oversight on public-private partnership (PPP) projects, blaming substandard works on insufficient supervision.

EIZ President, Wesley Kaluba, made the remarks during an inspection of the Ndola-Sakanya Highway on Sunday, which developed serious potholes less than a year after completion.

“This is unacceptable, the road cannot start cracking less than a year after works completed, things need to change,” Kaluba said, stressing the importance of consultant engineers being present during project execution.

He recommended that PPP contracts include clauses imposing stiffer penalties on contractors who take shortcuts, and urged the use of local consulting engineers to ensure proper oversight and quality work.

Kaluba, accompanied by senior engineers and former EIZ President, Able Ng’andu, said more governance is needed to ensure PPP projects deliver the intended results.

He noted that while EIZ members have faced criticism, most were not consulted during project implementation.

“Contractors must make use of local consulting engineers to provide the much-needed oversight and produce good works,” he said.

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