adminThupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
THE Beitbridge Town Council has embarked on a $1,5 million project to tar gravel roads in the border town.
The local authority is implementing the project jointly with the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara).
In an interview yesterday the Town Secretary Dr Sipho Singo said the programme will see the tarring of a 5, 2km stretch from Mashavire, Shule Shule business centres and the Dulibadzimu Bus terminus.
He said civil works were still in progress adding that the town council had since tarred the 1, 8 km stretch while the other portion was 55 percent complete.
He said the town council suspended the programme in August after Zinara had indicated that it wanted to concentrate on the just ended UNWTO in Victoria Falls.
Dr Singo said the Beitbridge Town Council had mobilised most of the necessary resources on the ground and that everything was going according to plan.
“The development of this town cannot be achieved through the council’s money alone and hence we decided to venture into a private public partnership with Zinara.
“We are also getting support from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development in terms of equipment.
“We are carrying-out most of the civil works using our own earth moving equipment and Zinara together with the Ministry of Transport are assisting with back up,” said Dr Singo.
He said the main objective of the project was to decongest the main roads leading to Bulawayo and Harare.
Dr Singo said the local authority was upgrading the roads as part of the town’s four year development programme.
He said the roads rehabilitation project was being done in phases adding that the town council had completed the first phase of tarring the road from Dulibadzimu bust terminus which passes through Mashavire Business centre and links with the Bulawayo- Beitbridge highway.
Online Reporter