BEITBRIDGE will soon witness another major development when the Government
embarks on the construction of a third bridge across the Limpopo, presidential
spokesperson George Charamba said on Thursday.
"This is another reason why President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa met with President
Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa. Zimbabwe was asking for land rights to build that
bridge wholly funded by Zimbabwe. Construction is expected to start soon," said
Charamba.
He was speaking with journalists on the sidelines of a tour of Beitbridge border post
by Presidents Mnangagwa and Ramaphosa.
Beitbridge, which recently saw the upgrade of the border post to the tune of US$300
million has undergone massive construction, which has completely changed the
outlook of the border town linking Zimbabwe and countries to the north of it with SA.
The bulk of goods going to Malawi and northernmost parts of Zambia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo pass through Beitbridge, which provides the shortest
route.
Of late the route has also been improved by the widening of the Harare – Beitbridge
Highway, which is underway and left with about 100 kilometres.
"The construction of another bridge will complement the upgraded border post and
will create a faster passage for travellers. We hope the new bridge will be reserved
for commercial transport and link directly with the terminal for commercial goods," a
haulage truck company director said.
"There has been much abuse of the New Limpopo Bridge and that can shorten its
lifespan. At times there is static weight on the bridge when there is congestion, but a
new bridge will cure that. There is a great vision in building another bridge," he said.
At its peak, Beitbridge handles more than 700 trucks in each direction of either north
or south.
The upgrade of the border post also saw the construction of a civil servants’ village
built in rural Beitbridge and is a model for urbanisation of the rural areas.