Chembe is a border town in Chembe District in the

Luapula Province Luapula Province is one of Zambia's ten Provinces of Zambia, provinces located in the northern part of the country. Luapula Province is named after the Luapula River and its capital is Mansa, Zambia, Mansa. As per the 2022 Zambian census, the ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. It once had the Chembe Ferry as a means of crossing the

Luapula River The Luapula River is a north-flowing river of central Africa, within the Congo River watershed. It rises in the wetlands of Lake Bangweulu (Zambia), which are fed by the Chambeshi River. The Luapula flows west then north, marking the border betw ...

from DR Congo to Zambia; but now, it is the home of the Mwanawasa Bridge (opened in October 2008), named after former president

Levy Mwanawasa Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (3 September 1948 – 19 August 2008) was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corrupti ...

. The Mwanawasa Bridge connects the M3 road to the

Congo Pedicle road The Congo Pedicle road (at one time referred to as the 'Zaire Pedicle road') crosses the DR Congo, Congolese territory of the Congo Pedicle and was constructed by and is maintained by Zambia to connect its Copperbelt Province, Copperbelt and Lua ...

, a dirt highway maintained by Zambia through Congolese territory to link Mansa (formerly known as Fort Rosebery) to the

Copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the south eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining and is the second largest global reserve of copper, ...

Infrastructure

Levy Mwanawasa (Chembe) Bridge

Levy Mwanawasa (Chembe) Bridge, commissioned in October 2008 for a cost of US$ 1.5 million. The 350-metre bridge has helped transportation difficulties brought about by the Chembe Ferry of old. With the pronouncement of Chembe as a new District, it has seen significant economic growth.

Chembe Multi-facility Economic Zone

In 2016, the government launched the development of the Chembe Multi-facility Economic Zone.

Mansa Sugar Limited

In December 2015, MANSA Sugar Limited, which was incorporated in 2014, proposed to set up a sugar plantation and processing factory in Chembe, Luapula for US$ 60 million. The Factory was commissioned in September 2018. Capacity: 500,000 tonnes of sugarcane per annum and 44,380 tonnes of white mill sugar.

Mansa Chilli Limited

In July 2016, Mansa Chilli Limited began constructing chili-processing plant in the Chembe Multi-Facility Economic Zone.

Population

In 2010 Chembe district had 23,394 inhabitants, and in 2019 the district was projected to go to a number of up to 28,919.

References

* Camerapix: ''Spectrum Guide to Zambia.'' Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996. * Terracarta/International Travel Maps, Vancouver

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

: ''Zambia, 2nd edition'', 2000.
Google Earth
has high resolution photos of Chembe with ferry and bridge construction clearly visible at lat -11.984 lon 28.734. {{Zambia-geo-stub Luapula River Populated places in Luapula Province