The 900-metre Shesheke Bridge connects Namibia to central Africa, extending the Trans-Caprivi transport corridor through to Ndola in northern Zambia to Lubumbashi in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The bridge only took two years to build and replaces a decade-old ferry service that was the only means of transport across the Zambezi.
Namibian businesses see it as key for exports from landlocked Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo to the Namibian port of Walvis Bay.
"We expect Zambian copper exports and the Zambian farmers' union to show interest to export cotton, coffee, sugar and tobacco via Walvis Bay," said Frank Gschwender, a business development executive from Namibia's Walvis Bay.
The Shesheke Bridge was built by German and South African companies at a cost of $15-million and was mainly funded by the German government.
As part of the infrastructure aid program, Germany also paid to upgrade 200 kilometers of road to Livingstone near Victoria Falls in Zambia.
"For the first time in road construction in Zambia, the road rehabilitation was undertaken in a most advanced process," said Volker Oel, development cooperation secretary at the German embassy in Windhoek.
Germany provided 32-million euros to build the bridge and improve the road in Zambia, he said. - Sapa-AFP
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