News / National
Zimbabwe's first Toll Plaza opens in December
07 Sep 2012 at 02:13hrs | Views
Zimbabwe's first state-of-the-art toll plaza will open in December this year along the Harare-Bulawayo highway, a senior Government official said yesterday.
Zimbabwe National Road Administration engineer for southern region, Mr Moses Juma, revealed this to Sadc delegates attending the African Road Maintenance Association Sadc focal group conference in Victoria Falls.
"Progress at our first state-of-the-art toll plaza is at an advanced stage and we expect to open it by December this year," Eng Juma said in his presentation of the Zimbabwe country report.
He said the computerised toll plaza was being constructed at the 17 kilometre peg just outside Bulawayo under the US$206,6 million project to widen, upgrade and dualise the Plumtree-Mutare highway.
The highway is 820 kilometres and is being rehabilitated and upgraded to international standards by Zinara and its partner Group Five, a South African based company.
Eng Juma said the highway would be widened from seven metres to 10 metres, install thermoplastics, a long life road marking material on the highway.
Such markings are used in South Africa, USA and United Kingdom on carriage ways as a safety measure.
Eng Juma said the project was progressing well and expected to be completed in two-and-a-half years.
"So far we have covered 90 kilometres and we are doing refills and reconstruction of the highway," he said.
Zinara, Eng Juma said would install a total of 25 state-of-the-art toll plazas, which look like those found along highways in neighbouring South Africa.
Zinara tolling manager, Mr Ostern Chimedza, also said his organisation was working on taking over toll collection from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
"We are working with them (Zimra) to facilitate the takeover and we are doing our ground work at the moment where we are structuring the department.
"We have identified our needs and everything that we need in preparation for the takeover," Mr Chimedza said.
Meanwhile, work for the actual upgrading of the highway such as pothole patching, crack sealing and levelling of depressions is already under way from Shangani to Bulawayo.
During a visit to some of the sites on Tuesday, workers were busy with the state-of-the-art equipment that includes a recycler and chip spreaders.
The recycler is the first of its kind in Zimbabwe and has the capacity to rip off the old tarmac and reconstruct it on the same day and motorists can use the new road the following day.
The resurfacing and dualisation of Plumtree-Mutare highway started in March this year and once completed the new road will become the first modern highway in Zimbabwe conforming to the Sadc protocols. The highway will have nine world-class toll plazas to recoup money used during construction. The Infralink Project being bankrolled by the Development Bank of Southern Africa is the largest monetary investment into a single infrastructural development in the past 12 years.
Zimbabwe National Road Administration engineer for southern region, Mr Moses Juma, revealed this to Sadc delegates attending the African Road Maintenance Association Sadc focal group conference in Victoria Falls.
"Progress at our first state-of-the-art toll plaza is at an advanced stage and we expect to open it by December this year," Eng Juma said in his presentation of the Zimbabwe country report.
He said the computerised toll plaza was being constructed at the 17 kilometre peg just outside Bulawayo under the US$206,6 million project to widen, upgrade and dualise the Plumtree-Mutare highway.
The highway is 820 kilometres and is being rehabilitated and upgraded to international standards by Zinara and its partner Group Five, a South African based company.
Eng Juma said the highway would be widened from seven metres to 10 metres, install thermoplastics, a long life road marking material on the highway.
Such markings are used in South Africa, USA and United Kingdom on carriage ways as a safety measure.
Eng Juma said the project was progressing well and expected to be completed in two-and-a-half years.
"So far we have covered 90 kilometres and we are doing refills and reconstruction of the highway," he said.
Zinara, Eng Juma said would install a total of 25 state-of-the-art toll plazas, which look like those found along highways in neighbouring South Africa.
Zinara tolling manager, Mr Ostern Chimedza, also said his organisation was working on taking over toll collection from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
"We are working with them (Zimra) to facilitate the takeover and we are doing our ground work at the moment where we are structuring the department.
"We have identified our needs and everything that we need in preparation for the takeover," Mr Chimedza said.
Meanwhile, work for the actual upgrading of the highway such as pothole patching, crack sealing and levelling of depressions is already under way from Shangani to Bulawayo.
During a visit to some of the sites on Tuesday, workers were busy with the state-of-the-art equipment that includes a recycler and chip spreaders.
The recycler is the first of its kind in Zimbabwe and has the capacity to rip off the old tarmac and reconstruct it on the same day and motorists can use the new road the following day.
The resurfacing and dualisation of Plumtree-Mutare highway started in March this year and once completed the new road will become the first modern highway in Zimbabwe conforming to the Sadc protocols. The highway will have nine world-class toll plazas to recoup money used during construction. The Infralink Project being bankrolled by the Development Bank of Southern Africa is the largest monetary investment into a single infrastructural development in the past 12 years.
Source - TH
