The short 18km section from Mufulira Town Centre to the Congo Border is designated as the M5 road.

Despite being in a poor condition,[3] both the short western section from Kitwe to Mufulira and the long eastern section from Ndola to Mufulira are declared as important roads, as they provide access to a shorter route to Luapula Province than the longer route through the towns of Kapiri Mposhi and Serenje in Central Province.

[4] On 16 October 2023, the Government of Zambia signed a Public–private partnership (concession) agreement with Jaswin Ports Limited for the rehabilitation & maintenance of the section of the M4 connecting Ndola and Mufulira (amounting to 61 kilometres).

[6] Plans include rehabilitating the entire road connecting the two towns (which was in a poor state as of 2023[8][9][10][11]) for the first 3 years, working on the one-kilometre access road to the Sakania border with DR Congo (18 km north of the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium roundabout in Ndola), constructing a toll gate on the road and working on infrastructure at the Sakania border on the Zambian side.

On 15 November 2024, the Government of Zambia signed a Public–private partnership (concession) agreement with Jasworld Ports Limited for the rehabilitation & maintenance of the M5 connecting Mufulira and the Mokambo border (amounting to 15.5 kilometres).

[13][14] The signing ceremony was hosted by the Minister of Finance (Situmbeko Musokotwane) and the Road Development Agency in Mufulira District and the project is expected to cost $56.7 million.