Raymond Jaravaza-Bulawayo Bureau
THE rehabilitation of Lupane-Nkayi-Kwekwe Road will open new economic opportunities for communities along the 240km corridor, with businesses, tourism operators and transporters expecting lower logistics costs, improved market access and increased investment once the strategic highway is completed.
Popularly known as the “Fighting Road”, the highway links Matabeleland North and the Midlands and offers an alternative route between Kwekwe and Victoria Falls, cutting the journey by nearly 200km and potentially easing pressure on the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road.
Beyond improving connectivity, the project is expected to stimulate local enterprise through increased passenger and freight traffic, creating demand for accommodation, restaurants, fuel stations, vehicle repair services and other businesses along the route.
The development aligns with the Government’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030, which place infrastructure modernisation, private sector investment and inclusive economic growth at the centre of efforts to transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle-income economy.
Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube is on record, saying the Kwekwe-Nkayi-Lupane Road could generate its own traffic and become commercially viable once upgraded to a tarred highway, allowing investors to recover their costs through toll fees.
Mr Arthur Moyo, a hospitality player operating a lodge less than three kilometres from Nkayi Business Centre, said the district had significant untapped tourism potential that could benefit from increased traffic.
“For the longest time Nkayi has been known as koMnyam’ubambile (backward place), but for anyone with an eye for business, this district is full of opportunities, especially in the tourism sector,” he said.
“The human and vehicular traffic that will pass through Nkayi when the highway is complete can be translated into business opportunities.
“We must give compelling reasons to travellers passing via Nkayi to spend a few hours or a night and explore what the district has to offer. Those travellers will spend money and leave it in the pockets of local businesspeople,” said Mr Moyo.
He said lodges and other hospitality businesses could benefit from travellers seeking overnight accommodation, meals and refreshments, as well as visitors interested in local cuisine.
“Our businesses in the hospitality sector, such as lodges, survive when we get bookings from companies that bring groups of employees, but we definitely want what we call walk-in customers,” said Mr Moyo.
“Walk-ins are the clients who want to rest for the night or just want to enjoy our local cuisines such as goat meat, road runner chicken meat and isitshwala (sadza) made from traditional grains before heading to their final destinations.
“We hope that the completion of the highway will bring in large numbers of travellers passing through Nkayi for improved business,” he said.
Youthful Chief Dakamela urged communities to position themselves to benefit from the opportunities created by the improved road network, particularly in tourism and roadside services.
“A good highway needs fuel stations, restaurants, vehicle repair outlets and other businesses that must be established along that road, so the completion of the Lupane-Nkayi-Kwekwe is an opportunity for the people of Nkayi to tap into various sectors of the economy,” he said.
“I’m passionate about the tourism opportunities that Nkayi has to offer, so my call is for local communities to invest in the lucrative sector and show the world what we have to offer as a district,” he added.
Chief Dakamela called on authorities to ensure that local people had priority access to emerging business opportunities, arguing that locally owned enterprises would help keep more income within communities.
“When the people of Nkayi benefit from business opportunities first, the local economy grows because the beneficiaries will plough back their profits into their local communities,” he said.
“I also call upon the contractors to expedite the completion of the highway in the shortest possible time so that communities along the highway can enjoy improved travel and the business opportunities along the road.”
Mr Akim Ndlovu, a bus operator whose long-distance buses connect Lupane and Nkayi through part of the road, said the rehabilitation was long overdue.
“The road has been untrafficable for a very long time, but as transport operators we have no choice but to use the damaged highway in its current state,” he said.
“There are a lot of communities along that road who buy groceries, livestock chemicals, furniture and other essentials in either Nkayi or Lupane business centre, so it’s important that the road is fixed for their benefit.”
Mr Ndlovu said young people could also tap into opportunities by establishing truck stops along the highway.
“One business opportunity that young people can explore along the highway is to apply for land from the Lupane or Nkayi Rural District Councils and set up truck stops along the road. Truck drivers will start preferring to use the highway and completely avoid Bulawayo when travelling between Harare and Victoria Falls, so truck stops will be needed along the highway,” he said.
Last week, contractor Road Trackers opened an upgraded section of the road near Lupane, allowing motorists to use the completed stretch as rehabilitation works continue.
Road Trackers project manager Engineer Arnold Jeme said the company had secured a five-year contract to upgrade and tar the existing 240km highway.
He said about 160km required extensive earthworks and widening to a 10-metre formation to accommodate the planned improvements.
“Two toll gates will be constructed along the highway, one in Lupane and the other in Kwekwe, while a bridge will also be constructed in Kwekwe. Another construction team is working from the Kwekwe side and is expected to complete an additional 10km by the end of the year,” he said.
Eng Jeme said work was expected to accelerate in 2027, with the company targeting to upgrade 40km annually.
Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution Richard Moyo has said the project was part of Government efforts to modernise the transport network and improve connectivity cross the province.
“Once complete, the Lupane-Nkayi-Kwekwe Road will give travellers leaving Kwekwe the option of reaching Victoria Falls without passing through Bulawayo, cutting the journey by close to 200 kilometres,” he said.
“This is a long-overdue strategic corridor that has been in the pipeline for years and has now become a reality under the leadership of President Mnangagwa.”
