LUSAKA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Zambia has the started relocation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) refugees kept at a temporary transit center, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Sunday.

The Zambian government, supported by the UNHCR, has started moving the refugees from the congested Kenani Transit Center to a newly opened permanent site, said UNHCR spokesperson Kelvin Shimoh.

The new site, Mantapala Refugee Settlement, is located 40 kilometers from the transit center in the same district of Nchelenge in Luapula Province.

The first convoy of buses to the new settlement carrying 150 refugees left on Saturday, he said in a statement.

"Several relocation convoys will follow in the coming days, depending on weather conditions and ongoing preparations on the ground in Mantapala in terms of health facilities, shelter, water supply and other services," he said.

The transit center was opened in August last year following an influx of Congolese refugees fleeing conflict in Haute Katanga's Poweto area and Moba in Tanganyika Province.

But the UNHCR spokesperson said the transit center has reached its maximum, currently hosting over 14,000 refugees, with an average of 100 new arrivals on a daily basis.

The new settlement has the capacity to host up to 20,000 refugees, he said.

Shimoh further said there was an urgent need to fund the provision of necessary services at the refugee camp, whose estimated budget stands at about 32 million U.S. dollars.