23 companies bid to rehabilitate Zim roads

The government has received 23 bids from companies that are willing to participate in the rehabilitation of 16 major roads across the country.

In a bid to lure partners in the rehabilitation of the country's major roads, government flighted a tender notice in the media late last year seeking bidders to rehabilitate sixteen roads.

The tender has generated a lot of interest with government having so far received 23 bids only a few days after the tender was floated. The tender will close of the 21st of February 2014.


Speaking to the ZBC News on transport and infrastructure development, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Munesushe Munodawafa, said the project will be run under the ‘build-operate-and-transfer' arrangement.

"We have so far received 23 bids for the floated tender and the projects have generated a lot of interest within the region and beyond. We still continue to encourage other players to come on board since the tender is yet to close," he said.

Regarding the controversy surrounding the Zinara funds, Mr Munodawafa said the organisation managed to collect close to US$54 million last year, a figure which he said is not enough to rehabilitate major roads.

It costs approximately US$1 million to rehabilitate a kilometre.

He said, "The money collected at toll gates is not enough to rehabilitate most of our roads but the motoring public want immediate results though they don't understand how it works.

"For the 54 million dollars collected last year, it requires one million dollars to work on a tarred road which can translate to 55 kilometres."

Government floated the tender for the rehabilitation of 16 major roads after realising that the 2014 national budget allocation had fallen short of the amount required to deliver infrastructural development.