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Bianca Mlilo Business Reporter
The government has embarked on a major upgrade of roads across the country as it moves to spruce the transport infrastructure, which has suffered years of neglect. Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo unveiled the list of priority road projects during his ministry’s cocktail reception in Bulawayo on Thursday night.
Gumbo said his ministry would soon invite bids for the rehabilitation of major roads notably the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Roads, which will enhance development in the southern region.
“As part of our programme to improve infrastructure in rural areas in order to create better access to markets and enable delivery of drought relief for rural communities, the ministry has embarked on an extensive rehabilitation of the rural road network in all provinces,” said Gumbo.
He said upgrade works were already underway in different districts. These include the Lutumba-Chikwalakwala, Mutoko-Nyamuzuhwe, Tsholotsho-Pumula, Bulawayo-Tsholotsho, Plumtree–Thekwane – Maitengwe, Plumtree- Tsholotsho, Plumtree- Mphoengs, Mphoengs- Maphisa, Mt Darwin-Mukumbura and Old Mazoe Road.
Other roads being rehabilitated are the Mt Darwin-Kanyemba, Mutoko-Rwenya, Bulawayo-Nkayi, Kana-Gwelutshena, Nkayi-Lupane, Nkayi-Gokwe and Sivomo- Sihlengeni roads. The minister said roads in other provinces not mentioned would also be upgraded in due course.
Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) acting chief executive officer, Moses Juma, is on record saying at least 80 percent of the country’s 97,000km road network is obsolete and requires urgent rehabilitation to reduce road carnage, which accounts for over 2,000 deaths annually.
AT least $24 billion is required to rehabilitate Zimbabwe’s road network, which has outlived its lifespan by more than four decades. The figure, based on the $206 million it cost the country to resurface the Plumtree- Mutare 820km highway, is six times more than the country’s $4 billion national budget.
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