Plumtree-Mutare highway almost complete

Rehabilitation of the Plumtree to Mutare highway which began in 2012 is on course to be completed by December with about 90 percent of the project now complete, a senior government official has said.
The project is being financed by a $206 million loan secured from the Development Bank of South Africa.
The road from Plumtree covers Bulawayo, Gweru, Kwekwe, Kadoma, Harare and to Mutare

The project is being undertaken by Group Five International in partnership with the Zimbabwe National Road Administration.
Transport and Infrastructure Development permanent secretary Munesu Munodawafa, however, said the onset of the rain season might cause some delays.

“We hope by December 31 we would have completed, but I see quite a possibility that we will extend beyond that depending on the rain season. We lost about two months last year,” he said.

Mr Munodawafa said the decision to secure a loan to rehabilitate the Plumtree to Mutare road was reached at after realising that toll fees collected on that highway were not able to fund its rehabilitation.

He also said it was the only highway that passed through eight of the ten provinces in the country, leaving out Masvingo and Mashonaland Central Provinces only.

“But practically from an economic point of view you have secured a loan of $206 million for road development, and we said to ourselves if we put it on the Beitbridge to Chirundu road it will not complete that project, but critically we will have a problem of securing funding for any other road because most of the roads are not viable on their own except the Beitbridge to Chirundu road. That is the only road that can pay for itself, all the other roads in Zimbabwe — it doesn’t matter how you toll them — you will not be able to finance them so we just said let us use this money on Plumtree to Mutare because we will still get money anyway for Beitbridge to Chirundu,” he said.

He said efforts were also being made to secure funding for highways including Harare to Nyamapanda and Beitbridge to Victoria Falls.
Zimbabwe is strategically positioned to provide a gateway to markets within the SADC region and beyond. — New Ziana.