By Rutendo Jiri

AfriSkills, a local engineering skills development firm, in partnership with the Construction Federation Industry (CFI) are set to host a road construction workshop at the end of this month in the capital, The Harare Post has learnt.

Speaking ahead of the Indaba, AfriSkills Regional Programs Consultant, Lloyd Chikati, encouraged stakeholders in the construction industry to build private and public sector linkages critical in modernizing the country’s road networks.

“…there is need to bridge the capital and technological gap as well as lagging behind the latest sector related skills which has affected efficiency among local contractors working on major highways,” Chikati said.

The workshop is expected to deliberate on, Routine Road Inspection and Establishing Maintenance Needs, Tendering-Preparation, Documentation and Professional Submission, the Construction Process, Asphalt Construction Basics.  

The Indaba comes at a time His Excellency, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new dispensation has prioritized roads construction and rehabilitation and opening up business as efforts to achieve vision 2030 peak.

Over the past two years, the country has witnessed tremendous efforts to modernize the country’s major highways.

ZINARA and the District Development Fund (DDF) have been working on rehabilitating the country’s rural roads network and have this week completed the first phase of a 10 km stretch of the Karoi- Binga road from Chivakanenyama to Zvipani, with the second phase set to commence soon.

The Chiredzi- Tanganda road construction is now complete.

ZINARA is currently working on the Harare- Beitbridge highway dualisation and the Makuti-Chiredzi road.

Once complete, these major roads will serve as a link between Zimbabwe and neighboring countries, such as South Africa, whom the country does the bulk of its regional trade with, thereby boosting the country’s economy and linking other African countries, such as Zambia and Mozambique to South Africa.