Online Reporter
George Maponga
Masvingo Bureau
Work on upgrading the Harare-Beitbridge Highway is inching towards completion as part of ongoing efforts by the Second Republic to create an efficient North-South corridor through Zimbabwe.
Four bridges, worth US$12 million, are at various stages of completion within the Masvingo City municipal precincts under the highway rehabilitation programme.
The bridges are integral parts of the ongoing upgrading, widening, and rehabilitation of the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway, which is being undertaken by five contractors: Tensor Systems, Exodus and Company, Fossil, Masimba Construction, and Bitumen World.
The contractors are working on 20 km sections at a time, and 492km have been completed and opened to traffic, with the remaining 87km currently being worked on and due for completion by the end of December this year.
A 5km stretch from the 20km being worked on by Masimba Construction along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway was opened to traffic on Tuesday as the rehabilitation programme nears completion.
In a speech read on her behalf by the director for Finance and Administration in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development Mr Exavier Chisoko, Permanent Secretary Engineer Joy Makumbe highlighted the impact the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway has on the country’s socio-economic front as Zimbabwe eyes to become an upper middle-income economy by the year 2030.
“You will all be aware of the monumental progress on the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, the backbone of our North-South Corridor,” she said.
“I am pleased to report that 492 km of the 580km stretch have been completed and opened to traffic. The remaining 87km of rehabilitation, the dualisation of urban sections in Harare and here in Masvingo, the construction of grade-separated junctions, which includes the trumpet interchange at Masvingo Polytechnic connecting Masvingo bypass on Masvingo-Beitbridge road.
“The new Mucheke-Chevron Bridge will cater for north-bound traffic, while the existing bridge will cater for the south-bound traffic and the installation of street lighting will all be completed this year.
“This will finalise a truly efficient North-South Corridor that will serve not only Zimbabwe but the entire SADC region. The Harare-Masvingo Road project is therefore not merely an upgrade of asphalt and concrete; it is a national strategic imperative. It enhances this crucial corridor, improving connectivity, reducing travel time, and, most importantly, saving lives.”
Masimba Holdings contracts manager Engineer Malvern Munemo said most of the works, including the second Mucheke-Chevron Bridge, were expected to be completed by the end of this year if things go according to plan
“We are building four bridges at a cost of around $12 million that are part of this highway upgrading project, and the second Mucheke-Chevron Bridge will cater for north-bound traffic while the existing bridge will cater for south-bound traffic. We are also building a mini-interchange near Masvingo Polytechnic and a traffic bypass at Chimusana Bridge that will divert heavy traffic away from the Masvingo City centre.”
Permanent Secretary for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa, stressed the importance of the rehabilitated highway in stimulating trade and commerce in Masvingo, which are key anchors of the provincial economy.
Dr Pazvakavambwa paid tribute to President Mnangagwa and his administration for prioritising infrastructural development, noting that the upgraded highway continued to breathe oxygen in the lungs of the provincial economy, seeking to become a US$8 billion economy by the year 2030.
Representing the Masvingo transport community, businessman Mr Noah Marima hailed President Mnangagwa’s administration for laying a solid foundation for the growth of the agricultural sector in Masvingo through upgrading the road network to move produce to the market expeditiously.
Mr Marima noted that infrastructural development was one of the key deliverables by the Second Republic that was at the heart of leapfrogging growth and prosperity, with Zimbabwe evolving into a regional transport hub poised to spur trade and commerce within SADC.
