News / Regional
Zimbabwe takes over Limpopo bridge
16 Jun 2014 at 09:38hrs | Views
Zimbabwe will Monday be assuming full ownership of the Alfred Beit Road Bridge, commonly known as Limpopo Bridge, linking South Africa and Zimbabwe that has been under control of the New Limpopo Bridge Ltd and Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (BBR) since its construction in 1995.
Minister of Roads, Transport and infrastructure Development Obert Mpofu Sunday said South African minister of Transport Dipuo Peters would attend the handover ceremony in Beitbridge
"We are taking over the ownership of the bridge today. The bridge was built 20 years ago by an independent company, BBR, and it has been under their control since then," said Mpofu in a telephone interview.
"We had a concession that they build the bridge, operate it then transfer it to us and that concession has since matured. The South African minister of Transport will be there for the gracious occasion."
The Limpopo Bridge, built over Limpopo River separating Musina in South Africa and Beitbridge in Zimbabwe, handles arguably the largest volumes of traffic in Africa, becoming a gateway for motorists travelling as far as Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mpofu said the bridge would be of huge economic impact to the country because motorists will now be paying toll levies to the Zimbabwean government.
"The country stands to benefit a lot from full ownership of the bridge. It means that all the toll levies that were being paid to BBR will now be paid to the Zimbabwean government. The money will be channelled towards the development of our roads infrastructure," he said.
The bridge recently underwent major refurbishments.
Minister of Roads, Transport and infrastructure Development Obert Mpofu Sunday said South African minister of Transport Dipuo Peters would attend the handover ceremony in Beitbridge
"We are taking over the ownership of the bridge today. The bridge was built 20 years ago by an independent company, BBR, and it has been under their control since then," said Mpofu in a telephone interview.
"We had a concession that they build the bridge, operate it then transfer it to us and that concession has since matured. The South African minister of Transport will be there for the gracious occasion."
The Limpopo Bridge, built over Limpopo River separating Musina in South Africa and Beitbridge in Zimbabwe, handles arguably the largest volumes of traffic in Africa, becoming a gateway for motorists travelling as far as Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mpofu said the bridge would be of huge economic impact to the country because motorists will now be paying toll levies to the Zimbabwean government.
"The country stands to benefit a lot from full ownership of the bridge. It means that all the toll levies that were being paid to BBR will now be paid to the Zimbabwean government. The money will be channelled towards the development of our roads infrastructure," he said.
The bridge recently underwent major refurbishments.
Source - The Zim Mail
