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Proper Ndlovu Bulawayo Bureau
BITUMEN World, the company contracted by Government to rehabilitate the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road, has established an asphalt production plant in the Gwayi area between Lupane and Hwange in Matabeleland North province to speed up the process.
Asphalt refers to a combination of bitumen (tar), sand, cement, and some chemical additives that are mixed together at high temperatures depending on engineers’ specifications, and are used for major construction projects.
The Government has facilitated the swift deployment of the contractor, which has since deployed its teams to different points along the highway to undertake intense pothole patching, resurfacing and repairing damaged road edges.
The total budget for the project is yet to be disclosed.
It took President Mnangagwa’s intervention to ensure the speedy response following an outcry by stakeholders who felt the damaged highway was now risky to motorists as it caused accidents while businesses were incurring high costs on fleet repairs with a huge strain on the tourism industry, in particular.
The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway is a strategic trade route on the regional north-to-south corridor, linking Zimbabwe with South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia as well as the DRC. Road construction falls under the infrastructure clusters and roads are regarded as key economic enablers in the attainment of Vision 2030, that of achieving an upper-middle-income society.
In an interview on Friday, Asphalt Plant technician, Mr Thomas Nyamuzinga, said the establishment of the new plant began three days ago as part of efforts to accelerate the rehabilitation of the road.
“This equipment is called an asphalt plant. It is responsible for mixing bitumen, sand, and other aggregates to produce asphalt that we use to cover potholes,” said Mr Nyamuzinga.
After covering the potholes, we are going to bring other road surfacing machines that are going to spread again on the surface covering the potholes.”
Mr Nyamuzinga said the process is expected to be complete in about two months.
“So, it’s going to take time, maybe two months from now and the plant will be ready and we will start bringing in our road surfacing equipment. There is still more equipment to come, especially the road surfacing equipment, some tippers to bring it quarry from Jotsholo,” he said.
“Obviously, (works) will be very much quicker because we used to source material from Harare where our biggest plant is. So, this one around here in Matabeleland is the first one, and it will be closer from here to Bulawayo and from here to Victoria Falls. It’s on the central position and will serve the whole highway.”
Mr Nyamuzinga said the scope of rehabilitation works includes pothole patching and resurfacing. He, however, said in other portions of the road, which are extensively damaged such as in Hwange, the contractor is doing total reconstruction.
He said Bitumen has another bigger asphalt plant in Makuti area along Chirundu Highway where the company is doing similar upgrade works.
Along the highway, the news crew observed that the most dangerous potholes had been completely sealed between Lupane and Hwange and motorists are enjoying their drive once again.
The stretch between Bulawayo and St Luke’s, while still has some potholes, major ones have been sealed and the contractor is closing the gap.
The Government declared the state of roads infrastructure in the country a state of emergency following heavy and destructive rains in the last two years and has been rehabilitating the road network through the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme, which is set to be succeeded by the Road Development Programme with the aim of developing the country’s roads to meet world-class standards in line with Vision 2030.
Victoria Falls-Bulawayo Road had over the years deteriorated to appalling levels resulting in a number of fatal accidents as motorists tried to navigate around the potholes.
Bitumen World’s chief executive, Mr Andre Zietsman, last week assured stakeholders that maintenance works would likely be completed within the next 11 months. He noted that since the commencement of works in the past few weeks, they were progressing well and that their estimates were that the close to 400km highway will be fully repaired in the next 11 months.
He said at the moment the contractor was seized with emergency rehabilitation works between Hwange and Victoria Falls where a 32km stretch needs complete reconstruction.
Haulage trucks, mainly from the coal mining areas in the Hwange district, have been largely blamed for the rapid deterioration of the load, leading to legislators calling for the implementation of a resolution that 15 percent of minerals or cargo from mining houses be transferred to the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).
However, the railway entity has been facing challenges resulting in most businesses resorting to using heavy trucks on the roads, which has been blamed for damaging major highways, which increases the cost of maintenance and rehabilitation.
Online Reporter