Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve in HWANGE
CONTRACTORS working on the upgrading of the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls Highway have assured stakeholders that they are firmly on track to meet the 2026 completion target, with the Government urging patience as it works to deliver world-class road infrastructure across Zimbabwe.
This assurance came during a comprehensive two-day media tour on Thursday and Friday, led by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development’s Permanent Secretary, Engineer Joy Makumbe.
The tour, which included officials from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) and other ministry staff, provided a first-hand look at the progress being made on the critical 440-kilometre road linking Zimbabwe’s tourism capital to the rest of the country.
The massive project, segmented into eight segments, has been awarded to a consortium of local contractors, including Fossil Construction, Masimba Construction, Syvern Engineering, Bitumen Resources, Asphalt, and Bitumen World, among others.
The initiative stands as a testament to the Government’s commitment to capacitating local industry, with Eng Makumbe proudly noting the project is 100 percent Zimbabwean.
On the ground, contractors detailed their methodologies, acknowledging the road’s prior deplorable state while outlining clear, phased plans to deliver a durable, widened highway.
Eng Fungai Matawu, Group CEO of Masimba Construction, which is handling a 50km section, explained their initial priority was immediate safety.
“So, in terms of our approach, our first approach was to look at dealing with the potholes, it was also becoming unsafe.
“We have said first of all, let us make sure that our road is smooth for the 50 kilometers that we are working,” he said.
Standing on what he described as the worst section of their stretch, Eng Matawu said they targeted making it trafficable by Christmas, with full completion of their segment later.
His project manager outlined an aggressive schedule, targeting the completion of 10 kilometres of base and surfacing work before the year-end holidays.
“For this month actually, November, we have targeted to close almost 10 kilometers,” he said, detailing processes delayed only by uncooperative moisture levels in the base layers.
Other contractors echoed the same ambition and technical diligence.
Eng Panganai Mataure, Asphalt Construction’s manager for the 51km section (from 252km to 303km), detailed the scope of widening the road from a 7-meter to a 9-meter surface and laying a 150mm stabilised cement layer.
“Since we started operations, we have cleared the road width for the first 16 kms,” Eng Mataure said.
He said plans to close the section from Cross Dete to Cross Mabale by February next year, diverting traffic via Dete, while ensuring critical access for clinics and ambulances remains uninterrupted.
“We are hoping to have the section ready by February or finished,” he affirmed.
From Syvern Engineering, project manager Eng Arnold Mfungwaze reported steady progress on their 50km section, with 5km already open to traffic and another 9km ready for cement stabilisation.
“We expect to finish the project by August next year, all things being equal in terms of funding and resources,” he said.
He highlighted the positive legacy of the project, noting the improved detour roads will be left for local communities.
The tour served as both a progress report and a public education exercise.
Eng Makumbe has appealed for public understanding, emphasising that quality road construction is a meticulous process.
“We want people to understand that there is a lot of processes that go on, it is not just that people are sleeping or overnight someone tells you I have done 10 kilometers. It’s not possible, especially if you are doing it right,” she said.
“Give us time so that we connect Zimbabwe kilometer by kilometer with world-class standard roads. That is our mandate.”
Eng Makumbe reserved her highest praise for the local contractors, describing their involvement as a major national achievement. “These are local contracts, 100 percent Zimbabwean. That is what also gives us joy and pleasure in the ministry, we are capacitating our own, our own engineers. They now have the capacity to do the roads in Zimbabwe,” she said, beaming with pride.
Matabeleland North Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo, expressed gratitude to President Mnangagwa for fulfilling the promise of the road’s construction.
He commended the contractors and the ministry but issued a practical challenge.
“What we want is that if the contractor is doing his road or his section, he should also take note of doing pothole patching,” he said.
Moyo urged the contractor to have consistent maintenance across all sections still under construction and noted discrepancies in progress, mentioning that while some contractors like Fossil were on schedule for a September 2026 finish, others were slightly behind and might complete by October or November. The tour ultimately revealed a project of immense scale and complexity, moving forward with determined pace.
While challenges of weather, resource allocation, and logistics remain, the unified message from Government and contractors was one of resolute commitment.
The Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road, long a symbol of infrastructure decay, is being steadily transformed, kilometre by painstaking kilometre, into the world-class roadway Zimbabwe envisions.
