Local companies bask in opportunities created by government
Story by Owen Mandovha, Business Reporter
CONSTRUCTION Industry stakeholders have expressed gratitude for the opportunity and trust bestowed to them in carrying out huge construction projects which were in the past a preserve of a few.
The government’s deliberate thrust to award contracts to local contractors for infrastructure development programmes has seen unprecedented growth in the construction industry which was the preserve of international conglomerates.
Chief Executive Officer of the Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe (CIFoZ) President, Mr Martin Chingaira thanked the government for allowing locals, with the organisation having so far seen their membership growing to over 1 000.
“CIFOZ would like to thank the government for finally allowing us to do these big projects, whereas in the past we have been overlooked. Our membership has so far exceeded 1 000 for the first time owing to the change of policy to accommodate local contractors. I can tell you that the industry has grown so big that it competes with others in the region,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Engineer Thedious Chinyanga said by prioritising local firms over foreign companies, the government has made hundreds of millions of dollars in savings.
“ The government has so far paid work for road construction to the tune of over US$1 billion which translates to 150 million in profits if you apply the 15% profit margin. Interestingly if you look at how these companies have grown, many of them especially those doing the Harare – Masvingo Beitbridge highway now own crushers for road material which has made it cheap to carry these road works which means that the government is saving a lot of money by using local contractors,” he said.
Austrian giant, Geiger International was lined up to rehabilitate the Harare Masvingo Beitbridge highway before the government took a drastic measure in 2019 to use local companies which include Bitumen, Fossil, Exodus, Tensor, and Masimba, who have managed to rehabilitate over 500 kilometers in just four years.
