Construction of the Harare-Beitbridge highway is set to start next April after government signed an agreement with the Austrian contractor Geiger international on Wednesday. The project is expected to take 3 years to complete.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Transport Minister Joram Gumbo confirmed the development and said that the project would be implemented under a 25-year Build Operate Transfer (BOT) model, with Geiger International funding the entire $984 million project. In terms of the contract, at least 40 percent of the value of the project will be sub-contracted to local companies.
The project had initially been given to a 14 company consortium, Zimhighways but the project never took off due to disputes between the company and government. Government accused the contractors of failing to provide money for the project, while Zimhighways accused government officials of demanding bribes.
More: The Source