News / National
No meaningful development at Egodini Mall
30 May 2019 at 07:50hrs | Views
BULAWAYO's Egodini Mall developer Terracotta Private Limited has maintained that the project is still "ongoing" despite indications that nothing concrete is taking place onsite.
The company director, Thulani Moyo, told NewsDay from his South African base that the project was still on course.
"We are moving on with our project in terms of the programmes that we have set ourselves. We are moving in line with that," he said.
Bulawayo City Council awarded the tender to reconstruct the terminus to Terracotta in 2016, but nothing concrete has been done other than fencing off the site, relocating vendors and drilling testholes.
Moyo admitted that the project was being affected by inflationary pressures.
"Inflation is affecting everybody. It is a challenge for everybody, but we are doing what we can do," he said.
The ZWL$ has been fast losing value against hard currencies, trading at 1:8 to the US dollar on the black market as of yesterday, while annual inflation rate for the month of April shot to 75,86%, up nine percentage points on the March rate of 66,8%.
Moyo, however, could not be drawn to discuss whether the contractor might revise the cost of the project, given inflationary pressures.
"We are trying our best. We have to try and do it. We have no choice," he said.
According to Moyo, the project would be done in three phases, with the first phase set to take 15 months to complete. The phased development approach would ensure that informal traders and public transport operators are relocated back onto the site upon completion of phase one, which would enable them to start trading in the shortest time possible, while allowing phase two of the development to occur simultaneously.
Phase one consists of construction works for informal traders' stores, taxi ranks, bus terminus areas and retail shops, among other structures.
The company director, Thulani Moyo, told NewsDay from his South African base that the project was still on course.
"We are moving on with our project in terms of the programmes that we have set ourselves. We are moving in line with that," he said.
Bulawayo City Council awarded the tender to reconstruct the terminus to Terracotta in 2016, but nothing concrete has been done other than fencing off the site, relocating vendors and drilling testholes.
Moyo admitted that the project was being affected by inflationary pressures.
The ZWL$ has been fast losing value against hard currencies, trading at 1:8 to the US dollar on the black market as of yesterday, while annual inflation rate for the month of April shot to 75,86%, up nine percentage points on the March rate of 66,8%.
Moyo, however, could not be drawn to discuss whether the contractor might revise the cost of the project, given inflationary pressures.
"We are trying our best. We have to try and do it. We have no choice," he said.
According to Moyo, the project would be done in three phases, with the first phase set to take 15 months to complete. The phased development approach would ensure that informal traders and public transport operators are relocated back onto the site upon completion of phase one, which would enable them to start trading in the shortest time possible, while allowing phase two of the development to occur simultaneously.
Phase one consists of construction works for informal traders' stores, taxi ranks, bus terminus areas and retail shops, among other structures.
Source - newsday
