by Innocent Mujeri
Government is set to engage four more contractors to undertake the Harare-Beitbridge highway rehabilitation and its subsequent dualisation, a source in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has said.
The number of companies working on the road will leap to nine from the current five.
The source revealed to The Harare Post on condition of anonymity that the four companies that are set to be contracted will be selected through the restricted bidding system, a system which was also applied to the other five companies.
Restricted bidding system is a procurement method that limits the request for tenders to a selected number of suppliers, contractors or service providers. Although considered a competitive procurement method, competition is limited to only firms shortlisted or invited by the procuring entity.
The other five reputable contracted companies namely Tensor Systems, Masimba Construction, Fossil Contractors, Exodus Company and Bitumen World are already on site and they have each been allocated 20-kilometre stretches, with room for expansion depending on their performance.
Tensor Systems is to rehabilitate the road between the 73-93 kilometre peg of Harare-Masvingo road, Fossil Contractors, 151-171 kilometre peg of Harare-Masvingo, Masimba Construction, 261-281 kilometre peg of Harare-Masvingo, Exodus Company, 70-90 kilometre peg of Masvingo-Beitbridge while Bitumen world will work on 209-229 kilometre peg of Masvingo-Beibridge road.
Contractors who complete their 20 kilometre stretch in time will be contracted to do other road stretches.
The intended contracting of four more companies to add on top of those on the ground is set to speed up the road rehabilitation works which is set to be complete by 2023.
By the end of the first quarter of 2020,180 kilometres of the road should have been completed said the same source.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural development, through the department of roads, is set to construct a traffic interchange at Mbudzi roundabout to replace the roundabout which is currently a hub of traffic congestion.
A traffic interchange is a road junction that uses grade separation and typically one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without interruption from other crossing traffic streams.
The source within the Ministry said the feasibility study for the traffic interchange was already done by a South African company, Nathan D. Maier Consulting Engineers, Inc. (NDM) and the construction of the same is set to be complete by September this year.
A preliminary report with designs and costs of the traffic interchange has been submitted to the Ministry.
During the construction of the traffic interchange, traffic will be diverted to other detour roads.
For instance, Chirundu bound traffic will be diverted to Amalinda road then Glemorah until they reach High Glen.Chitungwiza bound traffic will use Masocha Ndlovu road.
The source further revealed the project will be financed through floating of infrastructure bonds or through payment advances by commercial banks.
Government is upgrading roads across the country as they are key enablers of economic development as Zimbabwe attains the upper middle income economy status by 2030.
The Beitbridge-Harare highway which is under rehabilitation is key to the development of the country as it facilitates regional trade and the movement of millions of people within Southern, Central and East Africa.
