About 100 contractors in North-Western Province are undergoing a month training in line with the Lobito Corridor project component.
The training is in relations to Capacity Building for Trade Facilitation and Corridor Coordination.
The African Development Bank through the ministry of Commerce has appointed the National Council for Construction (NCC) and Solwezi Trades Training Institute (SOTTI) to undertake the training.
And North western province Permanent Secretary Willies Mangimela who opened the training disclosed that the objective of the training is to build capacity in Contractors within North Western Province in order to enhance their ability to perform and produce desired results to support infrastructure development for the project.
Mr Mangimela urged participants to be attentive in order to maximise acquisition of relevant skills to enable them compete favourably with foreign companies in acquiring projects and providing good and quality service delivery when awarded with a contract.
He mentioned that theĀ training was in line with Governments vision to implement policies that supports the enhancement and empowerment of local contractors for sustainable infrastructure development and job creation as enshrined in theĀ the Vision 2030 and the revised 7th National Development Plan.
He stated that Government believes that enhancing sectorial skills development and technology transfer in the construction sector is key for developing the required infrastructure to steer economic diversification.
“And the program has come at the right time when there is a new dawn for Zambia, whose developmental vision is anchored on the development of socio-economic support services which enhance the livelihoods of the Zambians,” he said.
He stated that the provincial administration’s vision is to see that see improved performance by contractors from within the region to a level where more than 90 percent of contractors based in North Western Province were able to favourably bid and win contracts for execution within the province.
The Ministry of Commerce in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB), launched the Lobito Corridor Trade Facilitation Project (LCTFP) in 2018, which will run for a period of 3 years with a budget of USD 8.4 million.
The project seeks to empower SMEs in the agriculture sector with basic equipment for value addition, reduce gender inequality by empowering women involved in trading and entrepreneurship, and empower border agencies with enhanced capacity for service delivery around the Lobito Corridor.