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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
About 500 families in Chivi and Mwenezi districts will soon be relocated, to pave way for the $1,7 billion Beitbridge-Harare Highway dualisation project set to commence at the end of this month, an official has said.

Masvingo provincial administrator Mr Fungai Mbetsa said according to the map, the dualised road would be 140 metres wide and that meant a number of homesteads along the highway were going to be demolished.

“The dualisation of Beitbridge-Harare highway will commence in a few weeks’ time, probably before the end of this month,” he said. “Close to 500 families will be affected.”

Mr Mbetsa said evaluations to ascertain the costs to relocate affected families were done and Government would oversee the whole process.

“I may not know how much it will cost, but evaluations were done,” he said. “Government is responsible for the relocation and compensation of the affected families. The whole project is and its contractor remains the implementer.

“The dualised road will be 140 metres wide meaning to say some homesteads in Chivi and Mwenezi will be destroyed to pave way for multi-million dollar project.”

Mr Mbetsa said Masvingo was going to accrue many benefits from the long-awaited project with indications that more than 300 000 jobs will be created.

He urged local construction companies to improve on their capacity and quality so that they would not be left out on tenders.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Joram Gumbo was on record, saying local companies would have a 40 percent stake in the project, expected to be complete within three years.

Somerton Quarry Processing Company director Mr Benjamin Mazarire challenged local companies to utilise opportunities that the dualisation project had presented.

“We should take advantage of such rare opportunities and participate in the project,” he said. “We cannot have foreign companies supplying quarry, pit sand or quarry dust.

My company and others have the capacity to provide all this and we should be considered.”

A four member Geiger International delegation visited Masvingo last week and inspected three sites at which their bases would be set.

Indications are that the company’s headquarters would be near Exor Fuel Service Station, two kilometres along Masvingo-Beitbridge Road.