BeitbridgeChirundu road to create 300 000 jobs
THE long-awaited Beitbridge-Chirundu Highway dualisation project whose commencement is set for January next year will create more than 300 000 jobs for local people, a Cabinet minister has said.
The $2,7 billion project will be done in eight segments with each segment covering 100km.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Dr Jorum Gumbo said the project, financed by an Austrian Company based in China, Geiger International and implemented by a Chinese company China Communications Construction Company will create a number of opportunities for both skilled and unskilled local people as well as constructing firms. He said the project which is set to be completed in about three years will also provide business to the local industries as some of the materials used will be procured from within Zimbabwe.
“We have asked the contractor to consider local manpower and we looking forward to create about 300 000 jobs. A few will be technical but many of those jobs will be manual and our unemployed youths will benefit,” said Dr Gumbo in an interview.
Dr Gumbo said Government has asked the contractor to make use of local firms so that they also benefit from the project’s spin offs.
“We have agreed with the contractor that 40 percent of the job be done by locals. We are looking forward to have some of the materials sourced from within the country. We do not expect the contractor to ship small things like bolts and nuts which are available locally. It is against this background that local firms involved in road construction activities should brace for such opportunities because their expertise will be requisite once the project commences in January next year latest,”he said.
The dualisation of Be i tbr i d ge - C h i rundu Highway will save as the one of the major cogs in the country’s blueprint, Zim Asset.