Property tycoon opens up on stillborn Airport Road project
THE City of Harare tried to set up a tollgate on a highway linking its central business district (CBD) with Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport for paying a firm that had clinched a deal to revamp the busy artery in 2008, according to property tycoon, Ken Sharpe.
A tollgate on the highway would mean international visitors arriving at the airport would immediately be hit by a toll fee within their first 20km in Harare.
Commuters between Harare’s CBD and the airport would also be compelled to fork out hefty fees daily.
The transaction was inked as Zimbabwe battled hyperinflation estimated at 500 billion percent in December 2008, after the city agreed to form a joint venture with Sharpe for the development.
About a decade ago, former Transport and Communications minister Obert Mpofu toyed with the idea of establishing tollgates within Harare’s roads.
But his ambition hit brick walls after being resisted on all fronts, including in parliament.
Sharpe, the chief executive officer of West Property, one of the country’s biggest real estate firms, controlled Augur Investments, which was awarded the Airport Road contract.
The deal would later be terminated in 2013 after Augur moved off site due to concerns over payment.
Sharpe, who spoke exclusively to
last week, claimed that the cancellation was “unilateral”. He said it was also at variance with Augur’s agreement with Harare.
The airport highway deal still makes headlines in Zimbabwe a decade after it was inked, as citizens try to understand if the country got value for money.
“The city didn’t have theodolites for surveying,” Sharpe told “We bought them the equipment. They didn’t have computers and we bought them. They didn’t have fuel for ambulances. We gave them a lot of fuel, about 30 000 litres. I remember helping the city