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Nqobile Bhebhe, Senior Business Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council and the National Railways of Zimbabwe are working on an elaborate immediate impact project of converting a portion of the railway station into a public transport interchange terminal for pre-booking luxury coaches and informal traders space, a project that seeks to decongest the central business district and also boost trade.
The development comes amid indications that the national railways has crafted a redevelopment strategy of turning the Railway Station into an up-market transport hub and Shopping Mall.
The two entities have held several meetings on the issue and the local authority has in principle adopted the proposal.
The council is eager to decongest the central business district due to an influx of illegal informal traders and transport operators.
According to the latest council monthly report on Town Lands and Planning committee tabled before a full council on Wednesday, the Town Planning Director Mr Wisdom Siziba said in terms of Local Development Plan No.4: Central Area, the identified land for the project was zoned railway operational land which also caters for public transport.
Therefore, the proposed use is freely permitted.
The land was bounded by Railway Ave to the north and the Bulawayo Main Station to the South.
The extent of the proposed site is approximately 19,2 hectares and the NRZ has availed the site for the proposed use.
“It would be recalled that of late there have been calls for the City of Bulawayo to look for alternative space to accommodate buses and informal traders in order to decongest the Central Business District (CBD) for the various activities which had invaded the CBD. These activities were a reaction to the changing socio-economic environment and include but not limited to the following, ranking of regional, intercity luxury buses as well as country buses in the CBD, legal and illegal,” said Mr Siziba.
He said the increased informal activities such as fruit and vegetables wholesaling, selling of farm produce from vehicles, rise in “mushikashika” as well as illegal parking, was a cause for concern as it is contributing to urban decay.
“Thus, council has been in negotiating with the NRZ for a possible partnership in utilising the portion of the railways reserve into interchange terminal hub for luxury coaches and other ancillary uses. This involves re-designating portions of spaces and buildings within the Main Railways Station into informal trading sites,” said Mr Siziba.
He said the proposed partnership is considered as one way of decongesting the CBD and at the same time fully utilising the previously derelict portions of the city area.
Mr Siziba said should the proposal be acceded to, the majority of the buses would be required to move to the site for picking up and dropping passengers only.
Under the proposal, the terminal hub will cater for buses travelling to and from across the borders, those using the intercity routes such as Bulawayo-Harare route, Bulawayo-Masvingo, Bulawayo-Beitbridge and Bulawayo-Victoria Falls, Bulawayo-Botswana/Namibia/Zambia/ Mozambique routes.
Smaller portions would be provided for the metered taxis that pick and drop passengers.
Based on the report, a joint site inspection between council and NRZ officials on February 10 revealed that there were a number of unused buildings and open spaces within the station area which could easily be turned into informal trading spaces.
The total area that could be re-designated at present was approximately 19,2 hectares in extent.
“The NRZ revealed that they had a redevelopment plan for the Railway Station into an up-market transport hub and Shopping Mall like in other places in the region and the world at large.
“While this was a long-term plan, the short to medium-term strategy was to start with what was doable under the current economic environment while looking for long-term development partners. This redevelopment was likely to be in sync with the proposed Egodini Mall and create a link between the Malls through Basch Street and Lobengula Street.
“The plan was to put this project as an immediate impact project considering the opportunities for decongestion of the CBD and the financial impact to both parties. The city is in serious need of space to accommodate the informal activities and provide decent safe trading places.” — @nqobilebhebhe
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