The Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) has completed and handed over lane-widening works at the Inkomo and Lion's Den tollgates to the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara), marking a key milestone in preparations for the country's transition to electronic toll collection.
The upgraded toll gates, which have been expanded to six lanes and four lanes respectively, will accommodate dedicated express lanes for motorists using Zinara's planned electronic tolling system alongside conventional payment lanes.
The handover transfers responsibility for the completed infrastructure to Zinara, which is leading the rollout of the electronic tolling programme across Zimbabwe's 29 tollgates.
The project is designed to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and modernise toll collection through the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
Under the system, registered motorists will use RFID-enabled electronic tags mounted on their vehicle windscreens. As vehicles approach designated express lanes, the system will automatically identify the tag, deduct the toll from a prepaid account and raise the boom gate without requiring motorists to stop for manual payment.
The completion of the widening works at Inkomo and Lion's Den represents one of the first major infrastructure upgrades supporting the national e-toll programme. The expanded layouts are expected to ease traffic bottlenecks, particularly during peak travel periods, while creating the physical capacity required for dedicated electronic toll lanes.
Construction is continuing at Umguza Tollgate along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway, where approaches are also being widened as part of the wider modernisation programme.
According to Zinara, the Department of Roads under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development is overseeing quality assurance for the project.
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The roads authority says the introduction of express lanes will improve vehicle throughput by separating electronic transactions from conventional payment methods, reducing delays associated with mixed traffic queues. The broader programme is also expected to strengthen revenue assurance, improve operational efficiency and support the government's drive to digitise transport infrastructure.
