Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona, has officially opened the Masvingo-Glen Norah Loop Road, which is part of the US$88 million Mbudzi Interchange Project.
The road is the first to be opened since Mbudzi Roundabout was cordoned for construction in September 2022. The 3km loop road stretching from Glen Norah C to Amalinda Drive, was laid from St Peter’s Kubatana and links High Glen Road with Harare’s south-western suburbs which include Southlea Park and Ushewokunze.
Tefoma Constructing, a joint venture between Tensor Systems, Fossil Contracting and Masimba Holdings, built the Masvingo-Glen Norah Loop Road to ease traffic congestion on the interchange’s detour road. The one-way loop road will offer passage to the traffic from Masvingo Road and ease the Boka Junction.
Government Opens The Masvingo-Glen Norah Loop Road
Speaking at the event, Minister Mhona said:
“Progress on this project had slowed because of the houses surrounding the Mbudzi Interchange. We were still negotiating how to compensate them. We are a listening Government and we cannot just repossess people’s house. They should be fairly compensated for their properties.”
He added that by the end of September, all homeowners affected by the project would have been compensated. Minister Mhona explained that there is no standalone fund for the Mbudzi Interchange, and the government directs money towards the project as it gradually receives funds from the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA).
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At the commissioning of the Masvingo-Glen Norah Loop Road, ZINARA board chairperson Dr George Manyaya stated that from 1 January to 5 September 2024, the road administrator disbursed US$143 million for road projects nationwide.
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DNMZ Consulting Engineers explained that there are a total of 21 km of roadworks and 15 bridges at the Mbudzi Interchange. Thirteen bridges are on the interchange while two are on Amalinda and Harare Drive.
Also, of the 15 bridges, 13 are now at deck level. This means the structural framework is almost complete as the deck is the driving surface of the bridge where the road will be built.
Engineer Emmanuel Dube from DNMZ Consulting Engineers shared details of the state of completion of the Mbudzi Interchange:
“This project is divided into structural works and civil works. The state of completeness in terms of structures is at about 94% as there are only two bridges left. And in terms of civil works, we are just over 63%. So the overall completion of the project comes to about 73-74%.”
