BEITBRIDGE residents have lauded Government for constructing a new fire station in the border town that has been the missing link in terms of responding to disasters and risk management.
The facility is a component of the US$300 million Beitbridge modernisation project and has since been handed over to the Government by the contractor.
The procurement of fire engines is already underway.
The fire station, an animal plant and quarantine, sewer oxidation dam, a landfill, roads upgrading, construction of 220 staff houses, and 11,4 megalitres reservoir are some of the out-of-port facilities that fall under the project.
Government and the ZimBorders Consortium are implementing the massive infrastructure development initiative on a 17-and-a-half year Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) concession.
“It was very thoughtful of Government under the Second Republic to construct a state of the art fire station. The facility is very critical considering the investment done by Government in terms of upgrading the border post and the construction of 220 staff houses for its workers and other key infrastructure projects,” said Mr Remember Ndou, a resident.
“To us as residents, this is also assurance that our premises are safe in the event we are likely to have any fire and related incidents.”
Another resident, Ms Cleopatra Ncube said the new fire station dovetails with the town’s thrust of transforming into a modern city.
“This is one of the milestone projects by Government in our town and we are grateful for this intervention. This project is a good example of how Zimbabweans can built their own country, in line with the President’s philosophy “ilizwe lakhiwa ngabaninilo/nyika inovakwa nevene vayo,” she said.
Ms Mercy Mbedzi said the completion of a new fire station is set to end Beitbridge’s reliance on South Africa for fire management services.
Speaking during the recent handover of infrastructure projects constructed in the town by the ZimBorders Consortium, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhona said Beitbridge has in the past experienced devastating fires.
“These fires led to the destruction of property and buildings as the local authority was inadequately resourced to deal with such. It was therefore, imperative to include the construction of a fire station in the project to mitigate against future such disasters,” he said
“This project by ZimBorders is fully financed with no immediate burden placed on the Government’s fiscus. This surely is a great example of what can be achieved through successful Public-Private-Partnerships and is testimony to the good that can be achieved when the Government and the private sector work together towards the development of the nation”.
Beitbridge Town Clerk, Mr Loud Ramakgapola said they are excited with the spill over effects of the border modernisation project.
“The border post-transformation comes in with a lot of infrastructure development initiatives some of them have been in our plans for a long time, but could not take off due to limited resources,” he said. – The Chronicle
