Zimpapers Logo

Enacy Mapakame Property Reporter
PETROLEUM and logistics firm Petrotrade has begun construction work on an $11 million shopping complex in the border town of Beitbridge.

On completion, the Beitbridge complex will comprise retail shops, accommodation facilities, office space, parking space and a service station.

Acting chief executive officer Mr Godfrey Ncube said the firm had adopted a phased approach in the development of the Beitbridge complex. However, completion of the complex will depend on the availability of investors to partner the company in the project.

“We are doing a phased approach and we have already started with a service station which is now 60 percent complete,” said Mr Ncube by telephone.

“The second phase will look at partnerships and continue with the development of the other part of the complex,” he said. All things being equal, Petrotrade targets to complete the entire project in 2019, while the service station is scheduled to be commissioned in September.

Apart from availability of funding for infrastructure projects, regulatory requirements may also pose a challenge in the implementation of the project.

One of the main requirements for huge developments is the environmental impact assessment report as required by the Environmental Management Agency. The environmental impact assessment measures the anticipated effects to the environment of a proposed project.

In the event the likely effects are unacceptable, Mr Ncube said, design measures or other relevant mitigation measures can be taken to reduce or avoid those effects.