Work to upgrade Nyamapanda border at advanced stage
THE Government has identified contractors to work on the upgrading and modernisation of the Nyamapanda border post, north east of the country, which will run concurrently with the rehabilitation of the Harare-Nyamapanda highway.
Plans are also afoot to set up a Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) depot at the border post since most people from around the area have been going to seek services in Murehwa.
On Wednesday, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhona and other Government officials visited the border post to map the way forward.
Minister Mhona said the administrative work related to the private-public partnership arrangement for the project was now at an advanced stage, adding that they would soon visit the site with the contractors.
Upgrading of the highway, which serves as the major trade corridor between Zimbabwe and its north-eastern neighbours, Mozambique and Malawi, would start very soon.
Minister Mhona said they wanted to upgrade the border post just like what they did with the Beitbridge Border Post.
“The highway which is the major trade corridor between Zimbabwe and its North Eastern neighbours, Mozambique and Malawi is going to witness work starting very soon.
“Under the leadership of the President, His Excellency Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa, there is no road that is going to be left unattended, and I would like to tell you that soon you are going to see the road that links Zimbabwe to Mozambique and Malawi being rehabilitated.
“We are working with a partner under a PPP arrangement and we are finalising the modalities which will see not only the rehabilitation of the highway, but also the border post itself.”
The minister also held discussions with the Immigration Department and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority over the upgrading of the border post.
Construction of the Nyamapanda Highway will start at the intersection of ED Mnangagwa Way and Samora Machel Avenue up to the border post.
Member of Parliament for Mudzi North Constituency Benjamin Musweweshiri, where the Nyamapanda border post is located, said he was excited about the development.
“We are very happy and we thank the President Dr ED Mnangagwa for finding it necessary to work on the Harare-Nyamapanda highway.
“It is our hope that the Nyamapanda border post is going to experience positive growth as we are aware that the Second Republic has done a lot of wonderful work at Beitbridge and we are also expecting the same standard here.
“We are even more happy that the locals from Mudzi constituency are going to benefit in terms of employment creation.
“In the event that the area is improved, it is going to augment the work being done by the President as well as build the relationship with our Mozambican counterparts who frequently visit the Nyamapanda border post for business and social reasons,” he said.
He pledged to work with the Mudzi Rural District Council towards the provision of standard selling points for vendors in Mudzi.
“I am going to work with Mudzi Rural District Council in ensuring that vendors have standard stalls where they are supposed to carry out their businesses,” he said.
Some locals also expressed happiness at the prospect of having a revamped border post. Sisters, Esther and Janet Chinyanga, who are in the business of selling food at the border post, said they were happy that the President had decided to rehabilitate the facility.
“We thank our President for the planned rehabilitation of both the highway and Nyamapanda border post. We are very positive that the Mudzi Rural District council is also going to complement the President’s efforts by constructing vending stalls where we are going to conduct our business from.
In September 2022, President Mnangagwa commissioned the modernised Beitbridge Border Post and said all border posts including Chirundu, Forbes, Plumtree, Nyamapanda, Kazungula, and Victoria Falls would be upgraded to improve the quality of services in the transport sub-sector.
He then directed Minister Mhona to ensure the speedy upgrading of the Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway.
The lack of appropriate infrastructure and non-automation at Beitbridge border post had in previous years, created a bottleneck to the efficient movement of cargo and people.
This created security challenges, congestion and delays. In order to address some of the challenges, the Second Republic undertook a project to upgrade and modernise Beitbridge Border Post through a private-public partnership with the Zimborders Consortium at a cost of US$300 million.
The main scope of the project included the upgrading of the border post with new terminal buildings, commercial facilities for the border post plant, an animal quarantine facility and the construction of 220 staff houses for border agencies.