$10 billion needed for Zimbabwe roads rehabilitation

Zimbabwe needs about $10 billion to rehabilitate its road network that has suffered over a decade of neglect due to economic problems.

Morciad Chaparira, the head of the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) resource mobilisation division revealed that 40 percent of the country's road network was now classified as poor.



Chipara said that to replace or refurbish the Zimbabwe's road network, US$10 billion would be needed and further US$300 million required for aviation infrastructure.



However, Chaparira said the US$300m is based on 2009 estimates.

The rail network, which was constructed during the colonial rule, also needs a complete overhaul.

Zimbabwe's 3 077km rail network, once a hub of the regional transport network, has become so dilapidated that the World Bank has recommended the closure of some lines.

The country has 18 338km of state roads, 5 290km of urban roads and 54 240km of rural roads, which translate to a total road network of 77 868km.

Major maintenance is needed as a large portion of the road network has outlived its lifespan.



Industrialists say the revival of the rail infrastructure is pivotal to the country's economic turnaround programme as investors require such infrastructure if they were to pump money into the economy.

But raising the funds might present a huge challenge for the southern African country.

The government owned National Railways of Zimbabwe was this year allocated US$7, 4 million for the rehabilitation of railway lines and infrastructure countrywide.



Last month, Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara, said Zimbabwe is practically broke with the national debt now outstripping the country's gross domestic product (GDP).



"Zimbabwe's GDP is zero…If you owe someone US$7 billion and your GDP is US$7 billion then you do not have any money," Mutambara told delegates at a book launch in Harare.