The money was channelled through Infralink, a joint venture between the Zimbabwe National Road Administration and South African-based construction firm, Group Five. Zimbabwe holds a 70 percent share of the venture, while Group Five has the remaining 30 percent.
It is aimed to rehabilitate and implement tolling of 801 km of the existing national road network linking Harare and Bulawayo, as well as Mutare, near the Mozambique border, and Plumtree, on the Botswana border.
“The road upgrade and tolling project will create about 800 direct jobs and has the potential to improve Zimbabwe’s access to foreign direct investment,” said the DBSA in a statement.
“The Zimbabwean Ministries of Transport and Finance have sanctioned the introduction of project-specific tolling and other transport-related revenue for Infralink to fund its debt obligations.”
The upgraded routes were expected to enable cost-effective movement of goods and persons within the country, as well as enhance regional integration by linking Southern Africa Development Community trade corridors through neighbouring Mozambique and Botswana.
Post published in: Business