CMED adds new pieces of equipment  for roads rehabilitation

THE Central Mechanical and Equipment Department (CMED) says in the period 2021 to 2022 managed to rehabilitate a total 41,7 kilometers of asphalt roads and 340,48 km of rural roads across the country.

Managing Director Engineer Davison Mhaka said the total kilometers done for these two years were however hampered by liquidity and foreign currency challenges, otherwise, targets were higher than the achieved kilometers.

“Currently, the organization has ongoing projects that have a total of 52 km asphalt roads and 200 km of rural roads.

“It is my belief that addition of these new pieces of equipment propels CMED to increase its 2023’s total number of kilometers done, hence fulfilling one of its strategic objectives of road infrastructural development,” he said during commissioning of CMED new equipment and construction works on the rehabilitation project for Alpes road in Harare.

Engineer Mhaka said CMED found it necessary to capacitate itself in order to fulfill its mandate. Under the plan, CMED procured equipment such as road reclaimers, bulldozers, water bowsers, recovery trucks, and excavators.

Eng Mhaka said over the last six years to date, CMED has managed to acquire 42 pieces of equipment, consequently growing the equipment fleet to 77.

“Our commitment to recapitalization under the current economic hardships has been chiefly motivated by building the organization’s capacity so that we can undertake national infrastructure developmental projects on a larger scale.

“This will also enable us to meaningfully contribute to the targets of NDS 1 and Vision 2030. CMED’s major focus is mainly on the rehabilitation of urban roads that have deteriorated and are in urgent need of rehabilitation,” he said.

According to NDS1, Zimbabwe has a road network of 84 000 km, out of which 93 percent of the network is in fair or poor condition and in need of rehabilitation or periodic maintenance.

The country has targeted to increase the number of kilometers of road network converted to meet Southern Africa Transport and Communications Commission (SATCC) standards from 5 percent to 10 percent by 2025 and to increase the number of kilometers of road network in good condition from 14,702 km to 24,500 km by 2025.