HWANGE – Contractors working on the resurfacing and expansion of the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls highway say it will be several months before motorists begin to reap the benefits through faster travel times, with heavy rains slowing progress across multiple sites.
The sweeping reconstruction project involving eight contractors on the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls route and a single public-private partnership (PPP) operator on the Lupane–Nkayi–Kwekwe corridor is reshaping Zimbabwe’s western transport backbone.
When complete, it is expected to ease tourism travel and cut logistics costs, but for now progress is uneven and often weather-dependent.
The Bulawayo–Victoria Falls Road, a vital tourism and freight artery, is being rebuilt in 51km segments by firms including Fossil Engineering, Masimba Construction, Bitumen Investments, Tensor Systems, Asphalt Products, Bitumen World, Linash Construction and others. Contractors are working towards a staggered completion by December 2026.
Travellers who welcomed the start of work in August are, however, increasingly frustrated. As the festive season approaches, less than 50km of the 440km route has been completed.
Fossil Engineering, in charge of the opening 51km stretch, says it remains on schedule to finish by September 2026. It has completed its first resurfaced segment and is preparing an additional 9km for mid-February. The firm is also drilling boreholes and constructing maintenance houses as part of its community obligations.
Masimba Construction says it is pushing to deliver at least 10km by Christmas after weeks of delays linked to persistent rainfall and moisture trapped under the base layer. Project manager Blessing Nhau said a 5km westbound section was stabilised three weeks ago and is ready for priming, but moisture levels have been slow to fall.
“We should have handed over this section by now. The rain and moisture have been our biggest battle,” Nhau said on Friday during a media tour organised by the transport ministry. “Our moisture levels are supposed to be 50 percent before priming and it has taken more than seven days to reach the required level.”
Masimba aims to prime the r5km and complete surfacing within a week, then move immediately to stabilise the next 5km in order to meet its 10km target. It is responsible for 50km of the upgrade.
Nhau said the underlying Kalahari sand formation had added to complications because it “keeps moisture locked” and takes much longer to dry after rains. Masimba employs 74 workers, more than half hired locally, with women accounting for over 25 percent of staff.
North of Lupane, Bitumen Investments has primed 5.4km that is set for commissioning by mid-December. Engineers say its full 51km allocation is due for completion by December 2025.
Tensor Systems also expects to surface 5km before the Christmas shutdown and says it is on track to wrap up its segment by August next year.
Asphalt Products is rebuilding and widening its section from seven meters to nine meters. Sixteen kilometres are expected to be ready by February, with completion scheduled for August. The company is drilling boreholes in surrounding communities and delivering pit sand to local schools for classroom construction.
In Hwange, Bitumen World is widening its 32km allocation to nine metres to create a 20-year-standard road capable of handling heavy mining and tourism traffic. Under contract manager Engineer Leeroy Msindo, the company is also installing a weighbridge and setting up maintenance camps to enforce axle-load compliance.
Vehicle Inspection Department deputy director Eustina Nyathi said inspectors will “take action on trucks that overload” amid concerns that coal hauliers from Hwange are already damaging newly resurfaced sections.
Linash Construction, one of two women-led contractors, is responsible for 52km of widening and asphalt overlay. Director Elina Shoko says the firm is targeting 10km of overlay before year-end, with completion set for May 2026. The project involves two resident engineers – Dumisani Shirichena on the Victoria Falls side and Adiola Kudzai Mudzingwa from the Matetsi end.
“There is no job solely made for men or women,” Mudzingwa said. “What is required is mental strength, the right education, skill, determination and vision.”
South of Lupane, work is underway on the new 240km Lupane–Nkayi–Kwekwe Road – a corridor expected to shorten travel times between Harare and Victoria Falls. Road Trackers, the public-private partnership contractor, says 15km has reached subgrade level, while government is targeting 60km over the next year.
Syvern Pvt Ltd, another women-led contractor working on a separate segment, has opened 5km to the public. Its 51km allocation is set for completion in August 2026.
Engineers say communities will benefit beyond the asphalt, with boreholes being drilled, weighbridges constructed, school infrastructure supported and maintenance camps established to avoid a repeat of the rapid deterioration seen a decade after the last major upgrades.
Combined, the companies have hired hundreds of workers across Lupane, Hwange, Lusulu, Cross Jotsholo and Nkayi, with Bitumen World alone taking on 50 local employees.
Tourism operators say the long-term payoff will come through shorter travel times, while freight companies expect fewer breakdowns and tyre blowouts once the work is complete.
For now, however, motorists heading to the falls or travelling through Lupane and Nkayi must navigate diversions, earth movers and heavy plant machinery – the visible signs of what may be Zimbabwe’s most ambitious road reconstruction push since independence.
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