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Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
ZIMBABWE has surpassed maintenance and rehabilitation targets of rural roads set in the Zim-Asset and is on course to widen major highways linking cities and towns, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Dr Obert Mpofu, has said.

At least 24 105 km of gravel road networks countrywide have been graded against a Zim-Asset target of 4 000 kilometres under the Infrastructure and Utilities Cluster.

This follows Government’s decision through the Zimbabwe National Road Administration to buy 80 motorised graders which were commissioned by President Mugabe in 2013.

In a speech read on his behalf by permanent secretary Mr Munesuishe Munodawafa at the commissioning of the Kadoma Six-Way toll plaza that is fully solar powered recently, Dr Mpofu said the plaza, the first of its kind in the country, would help speed up the movement of vehicles.

“I am glad to advise that these graders have graded over 24 105km of gravel road countrywide, representing 34 percent of the total gravel road network,” he said.

“This is commendable given that it already surpasses the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) target of 4 000 km for rural roads.”

Zimbabwe has 61 000 km of gravel road networks out of a combined 88 000 km road networks.

Dr Mpofu said work was in progress to widen part of the 18 460 km of state highways with some earmarked for dualisation.

At least 95 percent of the Plumtree-Harare-Mutare Road network has been completed with commissioning expected before the end of the year. At least five of the nine toll plazas along that route have been completed. Dr Mpofu said the Rusape and Mutare toll plazas were expected to be completed by mid-November while the Goromonzi and Gweru North plazas were expected to be completed by end of December. He, however, bemoaned vandalism of infrastructure on some of the completed sections of the project where people were removing studs on the carriageway and delineators from culverts.

The representative of Group Five, Mr David Blain, whose company is working on the $206 million project, said the project created 2 500 jobs for locals, while downstream suppliers benefited.

Zinara board chairman Mr Albert Mugabe, said targeted utilisation of funds had yielded success in widening the Plumtree-Harare-Mutare Road network.

“What we are collecting in terms of toll fees and other fees like vehicle licences falls way short of what we need to maintain and rehabilitate our roads, so we have targeted our resources and partnered with private players to carry out the task,” he said.