News / National
Bad railway infrastructure mounts pressure on the road network
15 Jan 2012 at 14:10hrs | Views
The continued deterioration of the country's railway infrastructure has mounted pressure on the road network system due to increasing amounts of cargo being ferried via road.
Zimbabwe's rail network, which for years has been dilapidating, is causing a strain on the road system as most of cargo such as agricultural inputs and produce, and other heavy machinery are now being transported by road.
Increasing trade volumes and industrial capacity utilisation in the past two years as well as a growth in traffic have worsened wear and tear on the roads.
University of Zimbabwe Rural and Urban Planning Lecturer, Mr Nyasha Mustindikwa said roads can only take a certain amount of load and the inability of the government to resuscitate the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) will continue taking a negative toll on the country's roads.
Progress on the rehabilitation and expansion of the road network has been slow while several projects which are on paper are yet to take off, leading to further deterioration of the roads.
While the NRZ is facing viability constraints, it has an established rail network stretching over 2 760 route kilometers.
In its 2011 Infrastructure Report on Zimbabwe, the African Development Bank (ADB) estimated that the rail sector requires at least US$1,6 billion for rehabilitation.
Zimbabwe's rail network, which for years has been dilapidating, is causing a strain on the road system as most of cargo such as agricultural inputs and produce, and other heavy machinery are now being transported by road.
Increasing trade volumes and industrial capacity utilisation in the past two years as well as a growth in traffic have worsened wear and tear on the roads.
Progress on the rehabilitation and expansion of the road network has been slow while several projects which are on paper are yet to take off, leading to further deterioration of the roads.
While the NRZ is facing viability constraints, it has an established rail network stretching over 2 760 route kilometers.
In its 2011 Infrastructure Report on Zimbabwe, the African Development Bank (ADB) estimated that the rail sector requires at least US$1,6 billion for rehabilitation.
Source - zbc
