Zimbabwe upgrades road network ahead of SADC summit

By Xinhua

HARARE: Zimbabwe is upgrading roads in and around Harare ahead of an August summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the capital city.

The 44th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government is scheduled for Aug. 17 in Harare, which is also expected to host more than 150 companies from across the 16-member regional block during the July 28-Aug. 2 SADC Industrialization Week at the Harare International Conference Center.

The SADC groups Angola, Botswana, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Construction of the main road leading to the Chinese-built new parliament building, where the summit will be held, was recently completed, and landscaping is now in progress.

“It’s a welcome development. At least we will now spend less time on the roads with smooth traffic,” Wish Gahadza, a Harare resident, told Xinhua on Saturday.

Another resident, Tachiveyi Mukonorwi, said the rehabilitation of highways will stimulate economic development.

“The good thing is that we are mobilizing domestic resources to build our infrastructure.”

Other roads leading to the new parliament building are either complete or under reconstruction.

Sitting on Mount Hampden on the outskirts of Harare, the six-story parliament building complex was officially handed over to Zimbabwe in October 2023.

Efforts are also under way to rehabilitate roads linking the new parliament building with the capital city’s Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

In addition, the government is upgrading the country’s road network, including the Harare-Chirundu highway that connects Harare with neighbouring Zambia.