Six contractors to work Harare-Chirundu road upgra...

Six contractors to work Harare-Chirundu road upgrade

Companies that worked on the Betbridge-Masvingo-Harare highway are likely to be picked on this project

Zim Now Writer

The Government says it will appoint at least six contractors to work on the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Harare-Chirundu highway beginning January.

Transport and Infrastructure Development Permanent Secretary Engineer Theodius Chinyanga said the government is aware of the bad state of the highway and is moving to rehabilitate it in the interim.

The highway has outlived its design lifespan, has bad patches, potholes and broken edges which and it is need of road widening.

It says, the upgrading programme of the Chirundu Highway is expected to follow the same template used on the Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare highway, using local resources

“The actions that we are taking are just preservation efforts to ensure that the highway remains trafficable. The road requires total rehabilitation and upgrading. It has outlived its design life,” Chinyanga said.

The government is in the process of identifying a contractor to undertake preservation works in the interim to ensure the road remains usable.

A contractor is being identified to conduct spot reseal, pothole patching and edge-break repairs.

Contractors working on the upgrading of the Beitbridge-Masvingo- Harare highway are likely to be given a fresh mandate and are being pushed to expedite works so that they can move to the Harare-Chirundu stretch.

Research shows that at least 1 000 vehicles, the bulk of them trucks, use the highway every day.

The transport Permanent Secretary said the 360km stretch would be divided into six sections, worked on by different contractors to expedite the construction.

“Currently, we are pushing the contractors on the Beitbridge-Harare Highway to quicken up their pace so that they give us an opportunity to move to the North of that corridor earlier than anticipated because of the state of the road.

“Let me assure the nation that come mid-2023 or thereabout, we should be moving to the North Corridor,” he said.

Increased economic activity in the country and the region where heavy duty equipment is moving northwards while bulk materials, including minerals, are shifting down south.

The most affected areas are around Nyamakate, Vuti and Marongora.

At least 22km have been rehabilitated and widened on parts of the Marongora stretch of the highway.

Zimbabwe is a vital cog in the Southern African region’s transportation network, servicing the North-South Corridor.

Chinyanga said on its part, Zimbabwe is targeting a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023 while other sectors of the economy are maintaining a sharp upward trajectory.