Sat, 10 Jun 2017 09:51:43 +0000
By PRINCE CHIBAWAH
CONSTRUCTION of the Frederick Titus Chiluba University in Mansa district is set to commence after Government secured funds for the project, Minister of Higher Education Professor Nkandu Luo has announced.
And Luapula Province Minister Nickson Chilangwa has said the announcement has elated the people of Luapula who have been asking questions about the construction of the FTJ university.
Speaking shortly after she inspected the 100-hectare construction site yesterday, Prof. Luo said Government had made tremendous progress on the project following the ground-breaking ceremony in 2013.
Prof. Luo said enough paper work on the project had been done in readiness for the commencement of construction.
She said the drawings for the construction plan of the university had been finalized while the bill of quantities were almost completed.
The minister said President Edgar Lungu would give a timetable on when he would launch the construction works in due course. She said the Head of State could only launch the project after the contractor had mobilized equipment on site.
“Yes, we haven’t made physical movements on the project but I can assure you that enough paper work behind the scenes has been done. The drawings are available and the bill of quantities almost finalized. All we are waiting for is for the President to give us his timetable for the launch of the construction works,” Prof Luo said.
And Prof. Luo said her ministry would ensure that the faculties to be offered once the university was built would encompass agriculture, aquaculture and tourism as the province was better placed to handle such studies.
She named GEEC, a Chinese construction company, as the contractor but could not disclose the amount of money involved.
She said GEEC was the company which signed the contract with Government in 2013.
The minister will also visit Mansa and Mwense Trades Training Institutes before proceeding to Northern Province.
And Mr. Chilangwa has said it was exciting to note that Luapula Province was now inching closer to having a public university which had been seen to be a far-fetched dream in the past.
Mr. Chilangwa thanked President Lungu for his resolve to give Luapula a facelift and change its status of being the least developed in the country.
He said Luapula was now receiving a fair share of infrastructure development which included roads, schools, hospitals and roads.
“What more can the people of Luapula ask for? We will soon have a university, we are constructing new roads, schools, hospitals, roads and bridges….Luapula will not be the same once this university is done,” said Mr. Chilangwa.
Mr. Chilangwa said prospective students would no longer fight for limited places at the University of Zambia and Copperbelt University as the new university would absorb them.
