President Mnangagwa officially opens the Tanganda-Ngundu Highway.
Tanganda-Ngundu Highway which was under rehabilitation on 100km from Tanganda to Checheche that was commissioned on 1July 2019 by President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a ceremony held at Kondo Business Centre, about 40km from Tanganda Halt is expected to ease business as well as tourism.
The road had been in bad taste for more than a decade despite it being the one used by fuel tankers heavy truck only link to Greenfuel Ethanol Plant at Chisumbanje where fuel tankers collect ethanol used for mandatory blending of petrol.
Small vehicles’ agony in the dilapidated road was increased when they tried to avoid potholes as well as giving way to Greenfuel heavy trucks that carry sugar cane from Middle Sabi to Chisumbanje. Such struggle once led to an accident that claimed 12 lives in December 2018 when a minibus was involved in a head on collision with a Greenfuel truck at Chimambo near Checheche.
Business was affected since the bad state affected the frequency and speed of commercial vehicles. On the other side, the highway as the gateway to The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, it's poor state was also affecting tourists movement to the region.
To experience life in Gonarezhou National Park, Save Valley Conservancy, Malilangwe Conservancy, Chiredzi River Conservancy and other from Manicaland, one has to use the Tanganda-Ngundu Highway.
The President revealed the amount of money used in the rehabilitation project which the Department of Roads in the ministry of Roads and Infrastructural Development was the implementation partner and Bitumen World was the contractor.
“The Ngundu-Tanganda Highway has been rehabilitated at a cost of US$20 million dollars. I now ask why this time a lot of projects are being undertaken by ZINARA yet in the past, there was little movement in the use of its funds. Every province has [at least five] road projects currently underway and we hope to reach the desired targets,’’ he said.
The minister of Roads and Infrastructural Development, Honourable Joel B. Matiza and Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Dr Ellen Gwaradzimba graced the occasion.