Construction consortium Infralink has officially opened Zimbabwe’s first toll plaza at Ntabazinduna, 20 km outside Bulawayo. The plaza is the first of eight being constructed as part of the R1.4-billion Phase 1 of the Zimbabwe government’s initiative to upgrade the logistics networks in the country to support its anticipated growth.

In 2011, Infralink, which is a joint venture between the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) and construction firm Group Five International, was awarded the contract to undertake Phase 1, which entails the rehabilitation of the 822 km national Plumtree–Harare–Mutare highway (east-to-west corridor) and the construction of toll plazas to replace the country’s manual toll collection system.

Funded by the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the upgraded routes and tolling infrastructure are expected to enable cost-effective movement of goods and persons within the country, as well as enhance regional integration by linking Southern African Devel-opment Community trade corridors through neighbouring Mozambique and Botswana.

Infralink has contracted Intertoll Africa to construct and operate the toll plazas, as well as manage road maintenance after Infralink completes the rehabilitation process.

Intertoll Africa MD Themba Mosai tells Engineering News that the plaza is the first in the world to be operated fully on solar power. The facility’s power generation capacity is 34 kW, but it is currently only using between 2.3 kW and 3 kW during the day and between 4 kW and 5 kW at night.

Mosai indicates that between 2 500 and 3 000 vehicles pass through the plaza on a daily basis, but that this is expected to increase as the country’s gross domestic product grows.

He states that although the plaza, which employs about 30 people, currently operates on a cash-only basis, a ‘top-up’ card system will be implemented as soon as all the plazas are implemented.

Vehicles are charged according to their size. Motorcycles are not charged, while light vehicles (Class 1) pay $1, taxis (Class 2) $2, buses with two double-axles (Class 3) $3, trucks with two double axles (Class 4) $4 and larger trucks $5. However, Mosi notes that these tariffs will be reviewed once all the tollgates are operational. Yearly price reviews will also be done thereafter.

Further, the facility operates on a Web-based system and also incorporates a load gauge to measure vehicles’ cargo and an automatic vehicle classifier to guarantee the correct tariff collection.

Zinara CEO Frank Chitukutuku says Phase 1 created about 1 800 jobs for Zimbabweans, of which 30% were women. “Work, including infrastructure development and mechanisa-tion, is also being done on other toll systems, on other routes, but on a smaller scale,” he notes, adding that these projects are expected to be completed by July 1.

Transport, Communications and Infrastruc- tural Development Minister Nicholas Goche acknowledges that the better part of the country’s 88 133 km road network requires rehabilitation, but that government funding of this work has become unsustainable. He points out that tolling alleviated pressure on the country’s budget, enabling the flow of funds to other socioeconomic causes.

Group Five investments and concessions executive director Eric Vemer tells Engineering News that the construction of the remaining seven toll plazas and the rest of the road rehabiliation will be completed over the next 18 months. Although a ninth toll plaza is on the cards, it has not yet been approved.

He further notes that 320 km of the 822 km has been completed to date.

Meanwhile, Vemer points out that negotiations around Phase 2 of Zimbabwe’s road rehabilitation programme, which will cover the road between Bulawayo and Harare (west-to-east corridor) are still under way.