Source: Chinese firm eyes HCC roads – DailyNews Live
Helen Kadirire 19 April 2017
HARARE – Harare’s potholed roads could be rehabilitated if Harare City
Council (HCC) signs an agreement with a Chinese firm Sinohydro Corporation
Limited.
HCC’s director of works Phillip Pfukwa told the environmental management
committee that Sinohydro had already submitted their expression of
interest in the rehabilitation of the city’s roads as well as treatment of
water at Lake Chivero.
This comes as roads in the capital city were declared a national disaster
due to their sorry state exacerbated by heavy rains.
“Sinohydro Corporation Limited had approached Harare City Council with a
proposal for the rehabilitation and dualisation of Harare roads. Sinohydro
is one of the largest State-owned companies in Beijing, China which has
undertaken major construction works internationally including Zimbabwe,”
he said.
Pfukwa added that once a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between
Sinohydro and the town’s acting town clerk Josephine Ncube, feasibility
studies would be conducted as to whether the project can be undertaken and
also at what cost.
Pfukwa also disclosed that Sinohydro had also approached council with a
proposal to also conduct a feasibility study on environmental management
of Lake Chivero.
According to Pfukwa, the project would also include a water treatment
exercise of the highly contaminated lake.
“They (Sinohydro) also came in with a proposal for the Lake Chivero Water
Environmental Management and Treatment project,” he said.
This year Zinara allocated $1,2 million to HCC for road maintenance,
however, council argued that the money was not adequate for the repair of
the city’s 7 000 kilometres stretch of roads.
In environmental management committee minutes, councillors argued that
Harare roads had not had any meaningful routine maintenance in the last 15
years and the recent heavy rains had left the roads in a bad state.
“Harare City Council expected no less than $15 million for the 2017
allocation, considering the state of the roads, this was the minimum
council would expect from Zinara,” the minutes read.
HCC spokesperson Michael Chideme said the city could not ascertain how
much was owed as Zinara dictates their disbursements to the local
authority.
“We do not have any say on how much we receive because Zinara only tells
us what they will give. However the city needs $800 million to fix the
road network,” Chideme said.
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