(Yicai) Feb. 24 -- Shares of Jiayou International Logistics advanced after the Chinese cross-border logistics firm said it completed the upgrading of a road section in Zambia under a public-private partnership project.

Jiayou [SHA: 603871] closed 6.9 percent up at CNY14.66 (USD2.12) in Shanghai today.

The 17.3-kilometer road section from Ndola to Sakania has opened to traffic and initiated toll collection, the Beijing-based company announced yesterday.

In 2023, Jiayou’s subsidiary Jaswin Ports signed a 22-year concession agreement with the Zambian government to build, upgrade, and operate the Sakania project for a total investment of USD76.1 million. Jiayou owns a 90 percent stake in Jaswin.

The Sakania project includes the upgrading and reconstruction of the 17.3-kilometer road section from Ndola to Sakania, the upgrading of the Sakania port, and the rebuilding of the 41.7-kilometer road section from Sakania to Mufulira.

The project lays the foundation to further develop Jiayou’s logistics corridor from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Zambia to ports in Southeast Africa, the company said earlier.

Jiayou aims to advance the construction of railroads, roads, inland ports, and warehousing logistics infrastructure in Africa and continuously enhance its core cross-border logistics competitiveness and supply chain management capabilities on the continent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione