MATTHEW TAKAONA

MASVINGO – Masvingo CBD is on the verge of a major transformation after the approval of its extension across Mucheke River at on a 24 hectare piece of land, Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa has said.

It will become a City divided by a river.

Mukaratirwa told The Mirror in an interview this week that the CBD extension will spread out to the south and to the south east. To the South, the CBD will lie between Mucheke River and Ndarama High and stretch from Charumbira Road near Chikato Police station to Masvingo – Beitbridge Highway.

Stands for hotels, shopping malls, car parks, service stations, wholesales, and supermarkets are already up for sale and some major companies have already snatched some.

The hotel will be built overlooking Beitbridge Highway.

To the south-east, the new CBD will be located between the Railway Station and Burombo Building on the town’s side of Mucheke River.

The expansion is a result of the high demand for commercial stands in the CBD. The CBD has also become congested in terms of vehicular and human traffic, he said.

“The area that we selected for the expansion of the CBD is the best option available. Any other option would mean that the two CBDs would exist apart and this has the danger of creating ghost towns,” said Mukaratirwa.

The new CBD has a total of 91 commercial stands that will earn the local authority at least US$4,5 million when sold. Three major commercial players, N Richards, Penhard Investments and Urban Rise have already bought stands across Mucheke River and paid cash in hard currency.

Mukaratirwa said the council’s vision is to build an E-town in the new CBD where public transport is managed with precision in order to avoid any congestion.

A major landmark of the new CBD is that Harare – Beitbridge Highway will now turn off at Croco Motors at the corner of Josiah Tongogara and Bradburn roads and pass through Chimusana Bridge and there will be a big roundabout near Chikato Police Station from where the road will go towards Ndarama High and turn left before the school to rejoin the main Beitbridge Road just before the roundabout at Masvingo Polytechnic.

Inevitably at least two big footbridges will be built across Mucheke River.

“We are particularly excited that Harare – Beitbridge Highway will now pass through Chimusana Bridge towards Mucheke Suburb. This is going to bring business back to Mucheke Rank which had died. We will definitely see the revival of Mucheke Bus Rank,” said Mukaratirwa.

The new route will also lift the burden of constructing Chimusana Bridge from the City Council to Government since the bridge now lies on a national road. Mukaratirwa expected Chimusana Bridge to be constructed before the end of the year under the Harare – Beitbridge Government financed expansion programme. Masimba Construction already has the contract for that stretch of the road.

Some stands on the south eastern side of the CBD have also been snatched and these include the proposed new premises for Zimra and two medical centers that are being put up by Dr Chirengwa and Dr Masinire. https://masvingomirror.com