New Kwekwe-Lupane highway to cut out Harare-Bulawayo-Vic_Falls route

Construction of the new Kwekwe-Nkayi-Lupane highway, which will reduce the current 876km distance between Harare and Victoria Falls by 228km, is progressing rapidly.

The five-year project, launched earlier this year, is being undertaken as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between local firm Road Trackers Construction and the government. The highway will feature 170km of tar across Midlands and Matabeleland North provinces.

Brighton Vundla, Road Trackers Construction project manager, said the road is part of the government's Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP) and is scheduled for completion in 2029.

"The project will shorten travel distance between Harare and Victoria Falls," Vundla said. Motorists with no business south of Kwekwe will turn right in the gold-rich town towards Tiger Reef, pass through Silobela and Nkayi, and reconnect with the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls highway at Lupane.

The new route is expected to cut nearly three hours between Kwekwe and Bulawayo, and another three hours from Bulawayo to Lupane. The number of toll plazas along the route will also be significantly reduced.

Vundla added that 30km of the road in Matabeleland North and another 30km in Midlands province are planned for next year, with a dedicated team operating from Kwekwe.

The road will feature two toll plazas and two weighbridges in line with Zimbabwe National Road Authority (ZINARA) specifications. Additional weighbridges will also be constructed on the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls highway, which is currently undergoing major rehabilitation.

"We are putting two toll gates and two weighbridges to protect this infrastructure from heavily loaded trucks coming from Hwange," Vundla said. Hwange is a major source of Zimbabwe's coal, essential for electricity generation and steel production in the Midlands.

Joy Makumbe, Permanent Secretary in the Transport Ministry, said the PPP model allows for innovative funding. "They put in their money for the construction of this road, including toll plazas and weighbridges. Our mathematicians then calculated how long it will take for them to recoup their investment before government takes full ownership of the road," she explained.

Land clearance is already underway along the Lupane–Nkayi stretch, which was previously a donkey cart pathway known locally as Fighting Road. Work on 35km of the highway is at an advanced stage, with 15km at sub-grade level and another 20km at base three.