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Freeman Razemba, Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT is happy with progress made so far on the construction of key infrastructure by local companies and is now ready to host the forthcoming SADC Summit scheduled for Harare next month, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has said.
VP Chiwenga yesterday led a delegation of senior Government officials on a tour to assess projects being undertaken ahead of the SADC Summit.
He was accompanied by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi, Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Tatenda Mavetera, Transport and Infrastructural Development Deputy Minister Joshua Sacco, permanent secretaries and other senior Government officials.
The Summit is scheduled to run from August 17 to 18 and President Mnangagwa will assume the chairmanship of the regional bloc.
Zimbabwe is presently vice-chair of SADC.
VP Chiwenga has been touring facilities that will host SADC leaders and their delegations to assess the country’s state of preparedness and the pace at which final touches are being made.
Yesterday, he first toured the VVIP Pavilion at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, beautification projects along the Joshua Nkomo Expressway (formerly Airport Road) and diplomatic rooms at Rainbow Towers Hotel, which are expected to accommodate Heads of State and Government.
The rooms are being refurbished.
The Harare International Conference Centre, which is set to host the 7th SADC Industrialisation Week from July 28 to August 2, was also toured.
VP Chiwenga and his delegation then moved to the Museum of African Liberation and later the New Parliament Building, which will host the main event.
Nemakonde Way and Old Mazowe Road, the new city where villas are being constructed, and University of Zimbabwe public lecture room, were also toured.
Addressing journalists after the tour, VP Chiwenga said there had been great progress since the last time he conducted a similar tour.
“What I have seen from my last visit, there has been great improvement and in some cases, actually exceeding what I expected,” he said.
“Yes, there are one or two areas that we need to move with speed to make sure everything is okay because we have given a deadline where everything must be in place well before the Industrialisation Week begins on the 28th of July.”
VP Chiwenga said he was happy with the quality of work being done.
“The quality of work is quite perfect and what has been done is extremely good and more importantly, these are Zimbabwean companies who are doing all the works that we have seen, maybe except one or two areas at the airport”.
Commenting on the construction of 18 state-of-the-art villas in Mount Hampden for high-profile guests expected in the country for the Summit, VP Chiwenga said most of the equipment has now arrived while some is still in Mozambique awaiting to be transported to Zimbabwe.
He directed the contractors to “quicken everything they are doing” so that by the beginning of the SADC summit, everything would have been done.
Mabetex Group, a Swiss civil engineering and construction company, is laying precast walls as local contractor, Bitumen World, has completed the foundations for 10 single storey villas, while other works are at different stages.
The pre-stressed concrete slabs were manufactured in a factory environment in Switzerland, to allow for higher quality control, which is more effective than casting concrete on-site.
Mabetex specialises in large-scale construction projects and has experience putting up and renovating historical buildings, administrative and public buildings, as well as industrial plants.
It also boasts expertise in urban development projects.
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