Construction of infrastructure in Zimbabwe has received a major boost following plans by the African Development Bank to finance its various infrastructure projects.
The country will get US $16.15m from the continental financier that will be used for the construction of the second phase of the Urgent Water Supply and Sanitation Rehabilitation (UWSSRP) project which will be implements in Harare, Chitunwiza, Ruwa and Redcliff.
The first phase of the construction of infrastructure in Zimbabwe will see the removal of raw sewage which has spilled over to the residential areas is thus securing water supply in the greater Harare region.
The project would help the country protect its public health through improved services, preservation of physical assets, capacity resuscitation and financial sustainability improvement for water and sanitation providers.
The AfDB project will notably rehabilitate 9 pumping stations and 4 sewage treatment plants, replace 28 kilometres of broken sewer pipes and repair a decrepit water supply distribution network.
According to AfDB, Zimbabwe looses about US$1bn every year through infrastructure deficiencies and its current expenditure on development was not enough for its economic recovery.
According to the resident representative for AfDB for Zimbabwe, Mateus Magala, the country spent US$0,8 billion per year on infrastructure between the government budget, parastatals, donor spending, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Magala also noted that inefficiencies came through under-pricing in the power, water, and roads sectors and poor financial management of utilities. He further noted that the country needs to align its operational inefficiencies with reasonable development country benchmarks. This could help double its existing flow of resources to the infrastructure sectors.
