Harare, (New Ziana) –The rehabilitation of major roads in the country is set to resume next month after the allotted funding is disbursed, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhona said this in the Senate on Thursday in response to a question from Chief Fortune Charumbira who wanted to know when the rehabilitation of major roads would resume, as many of them are in urgent need of attention.
Mhona confirmed that contractors are expected to resume work on major highways next month, starting with the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road, which has gained attention due to its poor condition.
“I want to address the question he raised about major roads, particularly our trunk roads. One of the most discussed ones in the media is the Victoria Falls road. This road was originally constructed in 1941. Imagine the challenge of failing to continuously monitor and maintain it, it has become worn out. You cannot just patch it; the moment you fix one section, another pothole emerges elsewhere. We now have a comprehensive plan in place,” he explained.
“I am happy to report that the contractor working on this road under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Program is already on-site, attending to the damaged sections. We’re putting in place a robust plan to rehabilitate the entire Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road, which spans 440 kilometers. Starting in April, you will see contractors mobilizing to tackle the entire road. We are working closely with the Ministry of Finance to ensure we address this with urgency, especially in light of the major events taking place in the country,” he said.
Mhona also announced that his Ministry has set December 31 this year as the target date for completing the rehabilitation of the Beitbridge-Chirundu highway.
“As for the other major trunk road, the north-south corridor, specifically the Beitbridge to Chirundu road, we are back on track. The completion date for this road and all related bridges is December 31st,” he said.
New Ziana
