Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
Government is in the process of setting up a new asphalt plant in Masvingo as part of a strategic drive to build internal capacity and reduce the high costs of outsourcing road maintenance work.
The initiative forms a cornerstone of a broader national plan to eventually deploy at least one asphalt plant in each of the country’s 10 provinces.
So far, the Government has acquired two other new asphalt plants for Harare and Bulawayo.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development confirmed the development in a statement.
“The installation of an asphalt plant is in progress in Masvingo Province, strengthening the capacity to maintain and rehabilitate roads across the province,” it said.
“The plant will primarily produce hot premix asphalt for road patching, supporting the maintenance of roads across Masvingo, including local authority and council roads.
“From provincial highways to community roads, this is about bringing road maintenance closer to the people and keeping our road network safer, smoother and more accessible.”
In February, the Government commissioned a 120-tonne capacity Skyline Asphalt Plant that will service all 92 local authorities across Zimbabwe, ending years of reliance on expensive private contractors for road rehabilitation.
The newly commissioned plant, located just outside Harare at Skyline, represents a strategic shift in road maintenance approach, with Government now positioned to directly provide asphalt products to urban and rural councils nationwide.
The facility enables local authorities to access affordable tar for roadworks, addressing a critical challenge that has hampered infrastructure development at the municipal level for decades.
