Beitbridge infrastructure development excites residents Already, the people of Beitbridge are excited that the new border post being constructed by the Zimborders Consortium will compete with some of the best in the region.

Africa Moyo recently in BEITBRIDGE 

Beitbridge residents and travellers have praised the massive developments taking place in the border town, saying on completion, they will give both visitors and citizens a fresh view of the Government’s commitment to transform the country into an empowered upper middle income society by 2030.

As part of the agreement to revamp the border, 220 houses will be constructed for civil servants, mainly those working at the border post while a water reservoir and sewer system, among others, will also be provided.

Already, the people of Beitbridge are excited that the new border post being constructed by the Zimborders Consortium will compete with some of the best in the region.

The border modernisation is taking place at the same time as the widening of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway, where over 360km have been opened to traffic.

Bitumen World employees were busy at work when The Herald visited the Beitbridge Border Post recently to have an appreciation of the work being done there. But beyond the border upgrade, some residents and critics across Zimbabwe were unaware of other benefits that will come with the US$300 million border modernisation project. 

Some ill-informed critics have been claiming that US$300 million was too much for the construction of the border alone, unaware that many other revolutionary projects would be undertaken within Beitbridge to benefit many people.

Zimborders Consortium general manager Mr Nqobile Ncube confirmed that the border upgrade project was “multi-pronged” and would completely transform the face of Beitbridge when completed.

“It is not only these things being done within the border, there are off-site works which are being done,” said Mr Ncube. 

“The border revamp is going to benefit industry and travellers and all that stuff, but there was also a realisation that the Beitbridge community at large, also had to benefit from this. 

“Of course, their benefits in terms of employment have already been taken on-board. Now that the affirmative clauses are in place, bigger opportunities are going to be availed to locals, which even when the project is closed (completed), they are going to be recipients of upskilling because there is a lot of work including carpentry and construction that is taking place here. 

“So when these contractors leave the site, they will not be able to take away the skills.”

One of the critical off-site projects is the construction of an entirely new village with 220 houses for Government staffers working at the border.

“There has been a cry that Beitbridge town is a Rand town and because of the volume of civil servants that are required to man this border post, there has been an acute shortage of accommodation and also the charges and rentals are mostly in the South African Rand. 

“So there was an inherent need basically to also do something about the accommodation issue. So there is a massive staff accommodation village which consists of 220 houses, which is basically a township on its own,” said Mr Ncube.

Twenty of the houses will be for senior managers, 20 for middle managers while 180 would be duplexes that would be occupied by staffers from Government agencies such as Immigration, the Environmental Management Agency and Zimra.

Added Mr Ncube: “All this is under the US$300 million concession. There has been talk that the border cannot be US$300 million, but there are these benefits and off-site projects that you are going to see.”

The border upgrade concession also demands that Zimborders constructs and capacitates a fire station.

This was in realisation that Beitbridge was prone to fires, which previously devoured vast tracts of land and more importantly, three warehouses at the border post.

Already, a new fire station has been put in place and should be operational in two weeks.

“One of the things that was realised is that there is a need to have a competent and capacitated facility that will have to deal with fire. So one of the off-site benefits that this concession has built is a fire station, the first ever fire station here in Beitbridge. 

“The last time I checked with the responsible Government authority, they said it was 99 percent complete. In the next two to three weeks, there should be a fully functional fire station with the relevant equipment that is on site,” said Mr Ncube.

Equally important is the setting up of an 11 million litre water reservoir that has become a landmark point in Beitbridge.

The project was completed two weeks ago and tested. It is now ready to cushion Beitbridge residents from water supply challenges.

Due to the growth of Beitbridge, the local authority had resorted to pump to consume, and there was no capacity to store, meaning that in the event of a breakdown in the water treatment system, the whole town, including the border post, would suffer water shortages. 

“So this has been curbed now, 11 million litres would literally carry this town for almost a week before running dry and we anticipate that even the worst disaster, by then would have been sorted out and this is a key benefit to the community,” said Mr Ncube. 

The sewer system in Beitbridge has been showing signs of stress due to population growth in the last five to 10 years, and as part of the border upgrade concession here has also been under strain.

However, the border upgrade project has brought a sewer oxidation plant that will have all other sewer processes connected to it, a development that ensures the sewer problem in Beitbridge should be adequately attended to for the next 15 years.

The last off-site project pertains to agriculture, where an animal quarantine point, has been set up. 

Those importing cattle can have them at that point while the veterinary services department can use the same facility to treat or inspect cattle. Agriculture departments will co-share the facility, which will be complete with laboratories. 

Said Mr Ncube: “Everyone is enthused about the infrastructure development many people have not yet fully seen the processes, but they are seeing in snippets, like the truck drivers are very excited because they are the ones that have been using the facility for long.

“As contractors walk away, we are going to leave a revamped border post, with huge community benefits, upskilled communities and we believe this is going to be transformative. This is the first time in Zimbabwe that we have had such as facility that is attracting a lot of attention.”

Ms Wedzerai Manonose, who resides in Beitbridge’s Dulivhadzimu suburb, thanked the Second Republic for the rehabilitation of the border and the construction of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway.

“We are thankful for the developments. The border and road upgrade is welcome.

“The border is now in a great state and compares well with the South African border, while the widening of the road has considerably reduced the number of accidents that were witnessed in the past,” said Ms Manonose.

Mr Enerst Mazinyo of Gokwe who was in Beitbridge waiting for the hearse carrying the body of his relative who died in South Africa, said: “The developments we are witnessing here are commendable. As you can see, the road is being fixed (by Bitumen World) so as to complement the beauty of the border.”

Mr Nelson Makiwa of Dulivhadzimu, also said: “Accidents are now significantly reduced. We are now travelling well on the road while the border is also great.

“The other issue is that people are getting jobs from the projects, which has improved the peoples’ lives.”

Mr Lovemore Madzidzise said the upgrading of roads and border demonstrated the desire of the Second Republic to revamp national infrastructure.

“The border was in bad shape the last time I was here, but the situation has completely changed. The road to Harare is also wide now. We thank the Government.”

Ms Vhengani Sebata said the developments in Beitbridge were commendable, especially the border, whose appearance was now easy on the eye.

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