Traffic investigations have begun for the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway repair works as part of a feasibility study for the expressway’s repair and upgrading.
One of the primary aims of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) is to build world-class roads and other infrastructure, which is critical to attaining Vision 2030 of an empowered upper-middle-income economy.
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According to Mr Chakanyuka Nziradzemhuka, Zimre Holdings‘ chief operating officer, announced that enumerator recruitment was already underway, the feasibility study, which received a US$3 million increase earlier this year, has reached the implementation stage.
The feasibility study for the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway repair works is being conducted in collaboration with two Khato Holdings companies, Khato Civils and South Zambezi, as well as Zimre Holdings, a South African company.
Mr Nziradzemhuka stated that Zimre Capital, a Zimre Holdings subsidiary, has been tasked with initiating the traffic study and reporting to the joint venture partners and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.
The enumerators will undertake traffic counts in their local areas from vantage points such as tollgates.
The feasibility study will determine if the road should be dualized, widened, or only resurfaced. It will also enable investors to choose which financial models to employ in terms of recouping their funds and over what time frame.
South Africa and Zambia are linked by a superhighway that runs between Beitbridge, Bulawayo, and Victoria Falls. It also connects Zimbabwe to the trans-African roads of Gaborone and Pretoria.
Beitbridge is the busiest inland port in SADC, with the bulk of the region’s countries using it as a gateway to South Africa.
The build, operate, and transfer contract for the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway repair works was given to a South African company in 2019. Through its firms Khato Civils and South Zambezi, it created a joint venture with Zimre Holdings.
A memorandum of agreement was signed in April 2019 between Zimbabwe and Khato, which was followed by a letter of appointment.
The government began restoring the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, largely with local contractors and has completed over 240 kilometres of the road thus far, allowing for a continuous flow of traffic.
