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Herald Reporters
THE rehabilitation and upgrading of the Kadoma-Sanyati-Nembudziya Road has begun, with the contractor now on the ground, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona has said.
The rehabilitation of the road is set to be expedited after Cabinet resolved that next year’s (2025) national independence celebrations will be held at Nembudziya Growth Point in Gokwe North.
The Kadoma-Sanyati-Nembudziya road is the main access road to the venue and its rehabilitation and upgrading is paramount.
“The contractor is already on the ground for the works and we are confident the road will be completed,” said Minister Mhona.
Meanwhile, Government has so far completed the reconstruction of 30km of the 43km Shurugwi-Mhandamabwe Road following an agreement with a local construction company, Road Trackers Construction (RTC).
The contract included construction, upgrading and widening of the road which links Beitbridge Border Post with Gweru, Kwekwe, Chegutu, Kadoma, Chinhoyi, Karoi and Chirundu Border Post.
Shurugwi-Mhandamabwe Road holds significant economic prominence as an accelerator to the growth of the Midlands provincial Gross Domestic Product.
The 30km stretch has since been opened to traffic while efforts are being made to complete the 13km that is left.
The road is undergoing significant transformation and is seen as a vital catalyst for increased transport movement along the southern corridor.
Infrastructure development is a top priority under the Second Republic, which is working to increase production across all sectors for sustainable economic growth.
In a statement, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development confirmed the developments.
“On the Shurugwi-Mhandamabwe Road reconstruction project update, we are pleased to announce the opening of an additional 8km section of the Shurugwi-Mhandamabwe road, bringing the total length of road opened to traffic to 30km with only 13km remaining to complete the project,” reads the statement.
Early this month, President Mnangagwa extended to December 31, 2026, the state of disaster of the country’s road infrastructure network following the initial declaration on February 23, 2021.
This was contained in Statutory Instrument 151 of 2024 cited as Civil Protection (Declaration of State of Disaster: Rural and Urban Areas of Zimbabwe) (Road Infrastructure Network) (Amendment) Notice, 2024 (No.1).
The declaration of a state of disaster in 2021 led to the launch of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme 2 which will now be extended as the Government continues with the construction and rehabilitation of the country’s roads.
More than 50 000km of roads have been rehabilitated and reconstructed, while 2 000 structures have been attended to since the start of the ERRP2.
Government has also engaged five contractors to resume the rehabilitation of key roads across the country as part of efforts by the Second Republic to modernise the country’s road network and improve accessibility.
Major roads slated for rehabilitation include the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway, Bulawayo-Nkayi Road, and the Kwekwe-Lupane-Nkayi Road.
The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway, a critical route for tourists and commercial transporters, has deteriorated significantly, turning long drives into nightmares for motorists.
Developing sound road infrastructure is one of the critical enablers towards achieving set targets under the National Development Strategy (NDS1), the Government’s economic blueprint spanning 2021 to 2025.
The Second Republic under President Mnangagwa is committed to ensuring that roads across the country are usable and in good condition.
The Government embarked on a major infrastructure development programme targeting roads, airports, border posts, schools, clinics and hospitals, and energy infrastructure.
Online Reporter