by Senior Reporter
The 45th Cabinet session was yesterday informed that the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development is prioritizing the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Beitbridge –Harare –Chirundu, which is part of the North South Corridor.
This was announced by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa while briefing the media after a Cabinet session.
“Cabinet was updated on the progress in the rehabilitation of the country’s highways by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development. The Minister reported that Government had prioritized the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Beitbridge-Harare-Chirundu, which is part of the North-South corridor. The Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge stretch was contracted out to five (5) local companies. Each company was allocated 20 km under Phase 1, which has since been completed,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
The Minister further said the contacted companies are now working on the second stretch of 20 kilometers each.
“The companies are now working on the second stretch of 20 km under Phase 2 which is earmarked for completion in February 2021. A total of 132 km out of the expected 200 km has been completed to date,” added Minister Mutsvangwa.
She further said the rehabilitation of the Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare road was long overdue as the road had become a death trap considering it has exceeded its design life of twenty (20) years by forty (40) years.
The Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare road which is being widened from the current 7 meters to 12, 5 metres, is being rehabilitated and upgraded in line with Southern Africa Transport and Communication Commissions (SATCC) standards.
Minister Mutsvangwa also said that the 6.5 km section between Makuti and Hells Gate on Harare-Chirundu road is being upgraded to a SATCC standard Three-Lane-Two Way carriageway with a width ranging from 13, 5 metres to 15.5 metres.
She further informed that the project is being funded by the Government of Japan through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Meanwhile, Minister Mutsvangwa briefed journalists on other issues that the Cabinet had discussed such as the COVID-19 and the status of projects of national importance.
On COVID-19, Minister Mutsvangwa said as of 11 December 2020, Zimbabwe had recorded a cumulative 11 162 COVID-19-positive cases, 9 324 recoveries and 306 deaths.
She said the national recovery rate now stands at 84 percent, while the total number of local transmissions is 9 548. She further said the number of new cases decreased from 833 in week 48 to 615 in week 49, partly due to increased vigilance and enforcement of COVID-19 guidelines among learners and teachers in schools around the country.
She said Cabinet agreed that all travellers coming into the country are required to submit COVID-19-free certificates obtained 48 hours before date of departure and obtained from a WHO-certified laboratory. Those who arrive without these requirements will be quarantined.
On the status of the projects of national importance, Minister Mutsvangwa said the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development is implementing Heritage Based Education 5.0 where key pillars are teaching, research, community service, innovation and industrialization.
She further said the education sector is being designed to give the nation the necessary capability to attain Vision 2030, through modernization and industrialization.
