Mkoba road rehab project begins

Sharon Chiware Midlands Reporter
Gweru City Council has moved to rehabilitate the Mkoba 5 turn-off to Mkoba 20 Road after completing the Senga Round About to Midlands State University (MSU) Road last week.

The Mkoba 5 turn-off to Mkoba 20 Road is one of the busiest roads in Mkoba, which is used by commuter omnibuses and private vehicles going to the Central Business District. The works are being undertaken by Bitumen World (Pvt) Ltd, which won the $2,3 million tender under the emergency roads rehabilitation programme phase two.

The local authority was earmarked to receive $721 000 from zinara, but the amount was revised upwards to $2,3 million. In an interview last week, Gweru mayor Councillor Charles Chikozho confirmed the development, saying the rehabilitation was going to be completed by the end of the month.

“After the completion of the Senga Round About to MSU Road in Senga, we have moved to Mkoba where rehabilitation works have begun from Mkoba 5 turn-off road, which goes right up to Mkoba 20 and that is more than nine kilometres,” he said. Clr Chikozho said the local authority was going to rehabilitate a total of 19km of road in Senga and Mkoba under the $2,3 million Zinara fund.

“We want to improve service delivery by rehabilitating these roads some of which were now difficult to drive on because of the pot holes that had developed over the years,” he said. Clr Chikozho said they were making use of the earth moving equipment which council purchased recently.

“We are privileged as the council because we received earth moving equipment worth over half a million and we are making good use of the equipment in the rehabilitation of roads. We are also using the same equipment to service more than 5 000 residential stands in the new suburb, Mkoba 21,” he said.