Vusumuzi DubeVusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is set to open an expression of interest tender for the rehabilitation of Renkini long distance bus terminus.
This comes after the local authority’s committee on Town Lands and Planning together with senior council management went on a ‘look and learn’ visit to the Gweru Municipality where among other projects they had an appreciation on how the Midlands city worked on the rehabilitation of Kudzanayi bus terminus.
This comes at a time that BCC is struggling to ensure the completion of the rehabilitation of Egodini bus terminus, with South African based developer, Tearracotta Private Limited not committing on when the project will finally be completed.
According to the latest council report, the local authority has since resolved that an expression of interest be solicited from investors leading to the tendering of Renkini terminus redevelopment on a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.
“It was resolved to recommend that an expression of interest be solicited from investors leading to the tendering of Renkini terminus redevelopment on a BOT basis. The terminus can be supported by convenient legal pick-up points that should be an extension of it under the same BOT.
“Or the council can enter into partnerships with developers for the development of Renkini bus terminus. Further council has to strengthen enforcement so that the buses use designated termini like Renkini and Egodini when it becomes operational,” reads the report.
Kudzanayi Long Distance Bus Terminus rehabilitation was done at a cost of US$1,6 million following a partnership between Government, Gweru City Council (GCC) and a private sector organisation, Bentach Resources. It has created modern vending bays that can accommodate 800 vendors and can process more than 100 buses per day.
In sharp contrast to the development in Gweru, nothing tangible has materialised in the reconstruction of the Egodini Mall which started in 2016 in Bulawayo.
The proposed plans to redevelop Egodini into a multi-million mall and regional transport hub resulted in the displacement of vendors and transporters who were operating at Basch Street Bus Terminus.
This has caused chaos and congestion in the city centre as transporters and vendors have occupied undesignated areas while shunning regulated ones.
The project was set to start in 2016 but no tangible development has been made and set deadlines have been missed.
Online Reporter