TRANSPORT minister Joram Gumbo has said the widening of the Beitbridge-Chirundu highway could push costs beyond the quoted $2,7 billion due to interest charges demanded by project financiers.
Source: Interest rates to increase the Beitbridge-Chirundu Road costs: Minister – NewsDay Zimbabwe September 1, 2016
BY BLESSED MHLANGA
Gumbo said they had estimated costs of the project based on surveying and sampling of soils along the road, forecasting that $2,7 billion was needed for the 897km stretch.
“It cost about $1,6 million to construct a kilometre of road and the Beitbridge-Chirundu Road is about 1 000km and now you can see what I am talking about and we should include the Harare ring road,” he told journalists in Harare yesterday.
“We have not given you the cost of the road, we have given you an estimate of the road as expressed by the interested people, when they do their costing they will also be looking at the interests they will charge.”
Gumbo also said government will use a loan to fund construction of a section of the Harare-Chirundu Road, which could push the costs up.
“The Beitbrigde-Harare Road will be done on a private-public partnership basis, then the one from Harare to Chirundu will be done on loan financing. What is going to happen now is that we have signed the framework agreement, we are now going into the proper nitty-gritty, so the cost of the road is not there yet,” he said.
COMMENTS
The Baba Jukwa Tokoloshe can easily see that Zanu is making its own commission on this deal.
So, what is this article about? No facts, no figures – just hot air and bulls..t.
The Tokoloshe can easily see that the looted mining revenue from the diamonds will be loaned via a bank back to the state – but all being held by Zanu. That way the country or the people can pay interest on the loot that these Zanu very fine gentlemen pocketed from the diamond fields in the first place? And Zanu has the money and the power – until the Tokoloshe takes its rightful place as the Grim Reaper of Zanu, of course.