The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) says the construction of the Chirundu-Beitbridge road will require between $500 million and $800 million.
DBSA executive vice-president Admassu Tadesse said the road was an important investment for Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. “We have spent $100 million on technical assistance just to assess how feasible the project is.
“We hope the deal will be finalised this year,” Tadesse said.
He said DBSA was still assessing whether the project would be bankable.
DBSA is involved in a public-private partnership with Zimbabwe in the construction of the Harare-Mutare and Harare- Plumtree highways.
Tadesse said the project was worth $206 million and has a lifespan of two years. Construction of the road began in June last year.
“The project was heavily funded through debt and the profit will come from the cars that will be using the road,” he said.
“This kind of partnership is tried and tested and in South Africa it has got the biggest record.”
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In the deal, the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) has a 70% shareholding while Group Five International has a 30% stake.
Group Five, one the contractors to construct the two highways, has constructed major roads and airports in South Africa.
Zinara will be taking over the collection of toll fees from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) this year to reduce leakages.
Currently Zimra collects fees on behalf of Zinara and retains 10% from the fees.
The road administrator said the country required $2 billion to maintain roads to acceptable levels yet it earned $80 million annually in revenues.
The country’s 87 554km of roads needed urgent maintenance.
