‘Prioritise worst damaged sections of Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road’: Government instructs contractors

Source: ‘Prioritise worst damaged sections of Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road’: Government instructs contractors –** herald**

Raymond Jaravaza, Sunday News Reporter

GOVERNMENT has instructed contractors working on the rehabilitation of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road to prioritise the worst affected sections of the highway to enable motorists to enjoy smooth rides while works on the critical corridor continue.

Some sections of the heavily damaged Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road have turned into a nightmare to drive on for motorists.

For instance, a 20 kilometre stretch from Phulula Business Centre toward St Lukes that should ordinarily take a motorists around 10 minutes now takes over an hour’s drive because of the pothole filled stretch.

Zanu-PF Matabeleland North provincial chairman, Cde Richard Moyo, who is also the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution told roads Engineer Xolani Ncube, through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, to instruct contractors to prioritise the worse affected sections of the highway.

Cde Moyo was addressing a joint Provincial Development Committee (PDC) and Provincial

Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting at the Gwayi-Shangani Damsite Boardroom on Friday.

“Government has secured funding to mobilise contractors back to site for the rehabilitation and widening of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road. So, we expect the contractors to resume. The contractors must, however, prioritise fixing the worst damaged sections first so that motorists don’t spend more than an hour driving a small stretch of the road.

“Engineer Ncube who is here today to give the meeting an update of the state of roads in the province must instruct the contractors to rehabilitate the badly damaged areas first,” said Cde Moyo.

The release of funds by Government will end months of uncertainty that had stalled progress in the critical infrastructure project.

In addition to securing funds for the project, Government is also advocating for alternative funding models, including Public-Private Partnerships and loan facilities, to ensure the full completion of the strategic corridor. Cde Moyo said the contractors are expected to resume works in mid-September.

“Government is working towards a speedy completion of the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road rehabilitation project in addition to another projects such as the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road,” he said.

“Our sons and daughters working and living in the diaspora are also complementing Government efforts to up-grade the Bulawayo-Tsholotsho Road by mobilising fuel and other resources and we will assist them by providing yellow equipment from our local authorities such as the Umguza RDC,” he said.

As of 30 July 2026, a total of 73,4 kilometres of the road had been surfaced and opened to traffic, with eight contractors working across different lots.

Bitumen World leads the pack with 20,9 kilometres completed under legacy works on the Hwange section, fol-lowed by Syvern Investment with 13,9 kilometres, Tensor Systems has completed 10,6 kilometres, and Masimba Holdings with 10,3 kilometres.

Fossil Contracting has completed 6,2 kilometres, Linash Construction 6,1 kilometres, and Bitumen Resources 5,4 kilometres, while Asphalt Products and Bitumen World on lots six and seven are yet to record any progress.

With a balance of 367 kilometres still remaining, the Government is optimistic that the fresh injection of funds will significantly reduce this backlog and accelerate the overall completion timeline.

The meeting brought together PCC members for interaction and advocacy on development issues between the ruling party and Government while allowing provincial leaders to witness first-hand progress on the national project.

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