Story by Bruce Chahwanda
PREPARATIONS for the 44th SADC Summit have reached the final stage with road contractors having completed 95% of the 200 kilometres of roads earmarked for construction and rehabilitation in Harare.
As part of preparations for the mega-regional event, road construction and rehabilitation has been visible in greater Harare.
Out of the 200 kilometres of the road network earmarked for sprucing up, contractors have done 95% of the work to pave way for a smooth flow of traffic during the summit.
“In greater Harare, we identified 200km of roads to spruce up and so far, a lot of work has been done to ensure that these roads are world-class and match the envisioned standards. We have covered 95% of the roads and we will be done on time for the summit. The scope of work entails asphalt overlay in some roads, construction and rehabilitation of some, we are happy with the progress made so far,”said Harare Provincial Engineer, Engineer Albert Muchena.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Fredrick Shava notes that works on the ground confirm that Zimbabwe has the capacity to host a successful event.
“A task force was set up by the President in administrative and logistical areas and these will include road rehabilitation, the sprucing up of accommodation facilities in our various hotels, improvement of mobile and internet connectivity, water, energy and power supply, and other infrastructural preparations at the venue. And the levels of completion of these are varied. On the second visit of the SADC Executive Secretary, His Excellency the President offered us a helicopter to show the SADC Executive Secretary the progress we are making in the preparations from the air. We did show him the roads that we are constructing from Westgate to Mount Hampden, and from Mount Hampden via Bindura Road back into the city. They were very satisfied,” he said.
The SADC Industrialisation Week will precede the summit, with more than 150 exhibitors expected, while a public lecture will be held at the University of Zimbabwe.
