Victoria Falls Bridge renovations scheduled to be undertaken

The Victoria Falls Bridge renovations scheduled to be undertaken soon following a deal between the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and a Turkish railway contractor.

Turkish railway construction business Warpi Merkezy, which has operations throughout Africa, is conducting a needs assessment to establish a finance mechanism for NRZ infrastructure maintenance. The Victoria Falls Bridge that links Zambia and Zimbabwe is one of these pieces of infrastructure.

Ali Salih Uslu, Business Development Manager at Warpi Merkezy, claimed that they were looking into more simple and technical ways to reduce the cost of NRZ requirements on railway lines.

This is based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in November following many meetings.

Officials from the company have been in Zimbabwe to evaluate NRZ’s substantial investment in rehabilitating railway lines from Mutare to Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.

“We will assess to reduce costs for the country, but for now, we have no figures,” Uslu said. “We need additional study and have a projects manager in Zambia. Hence we will combine findings to see what needs rehabilitation, even across the bridge. We will know soon, and we will do our best and come back,” Uslu further stated.

With increasing traffic loads over the years, there are concerns regarding the 198-meter-long, 128-meter-high bridge’s safety.

The bridge was constructed in 1904 and completed in 1905 as part of Cecil John Rhodes’ Cape to Cairo railway scheme.

The Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company of England built the Victoria Falls Bridge for £70,000.

Apart from repainting NRZ and Zambia Railways co-owners, no significant repairs have been made to the bridge.

Martin Dinha, the chairman of the NRZ board, claimed that the company’s equipment and fleet were worn out, obsolete, and vandalised in general.

Warpi Merkezy is returning for a second technical visit to assess how they can fit in and prepare a financial plan for railway line rehabilitation and modernisation, among other things.

Dinha remarked in a Victoria Falls interview that he believes the Victoria Falls Bridge renovations project would gain value and will be able to assist NRZ in modernising.

The Victoria Falls Bridge is located in a no-land man’s between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Source:  Victoria Falls Bridge renovations scheduled to be undertaken (21/09/21)

Businesses in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls anxious for tourists’ return

 Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls are in full flow this year. The mist from the water hitting the river more than 100 yards below is visible for miles. But the crowds are missing.

“COVID has taken a big hit here; we are basically on life support,” said Gail van Jaarsvelt, who owns retail businesses in the area.

More than 300,000 foreign tourists visited the Zimbabwean site in 2019. A mere 34,000 visited in 2020, threatening the survival of Victoria Falls, a town almost entirely dependent on tourist revenue.

To highlight the importance of tourism, the government offered free COVID-19 vaccination to every adult resident of Victoria Falls in March. Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa made a point of getting vaccinated here, an event that was broadcast live on national TV.

By August, the ministry of health’s Dr. Munekayi Padingani said 72% of the town’s adults were fully vaccinated. As a result, he said, Victoria Falls was spared the deadly delta variant-driven third wave that other parts of the country are experiencing.

“We can say that our vaccination campaign was successful. The number of cases have gone down, and most of our cases are people who are not vaccinated,” he said.

Some airlines that had stopped flying into Victoria Falls earlier in the pandemic have resumed their flights. Farai Chimba, a hotel manager in the town, is also the vice chairperson of the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe. He said this should boost arrivals.

“We anticipate that as these flights continue to come in and increase the frequency, we’ll also see a corresponding increase in the number of passengers traveling into the destination,” Chimba said. 

But foreign tourists have to deal with travel restrictions in their own countries. So there’s a new focus on domestic tourism to keep Victoria Falls afloat in the short term. Still, van Jaarsveldt said, business owners need to do more to encourage more locals to visit.

“We dropped the ball with that long back,” she said. “We didn’t rate the local market, we wanted the more well-heeled travelers.”

The pandemic has indeed forced Zimbabwe’s tourism sector to take domestic tourism seriously. Chimba said some hotels are offering locals discount packages of as much as 70%. The government has targeted multi-media advertising campaigns and scrapped a consumption tax on tourism products and services for locals at tourist destinations. 

Source: Businesses in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls anxious for tourists’ return (07/09/21)

Haulage trucks eyesore on Victoria Falls streets

LONG queues of haulage trucks parked on either side of the road just after Masue Bridge is the first thing a visitor into Victoria Falls encounters.

The hearty welcome Victoria Falls is popular for could soon be overshadowed by the ugly sight of the haulage trucks if no immediate action is taken.

Motorists, including tour operators’ vehicles carrying clients, have to reduce speed when approaching the Victoria Falls Truck Stop turn-off as the road that stretches up to Mkhosana turn-off has literally become a narrow strip due to trucks parked on either side.

There are also scores of touts and hawkers making the place an accident zone and a health hazard. Sex workers roam freely at night.

Residents on the CBZ stands west of the Hwange-Victoria Falls Road have to endure the dust which has even become a permanent coat to the interior and exterior of homes.

The place is a hive of activity as hawkers sell water and soft drinks to truck drivers while others solicit for jobs such as doing laundry.

Evenings have their own tale as sex workers have found a hunting ground.

The truck stop which is run by Victoria Falls City Council in a partnership with some private investors, can accommodate between 80 and 100 trucks at any given time.

Many park outside and sometimes there are close to 100 trucks between Mkhosana turn-off and the steep slope towards Masue Bridge.

The city mayor, Councillor Somveli Dlamini, said efforts are being made to find alternative land for parking.

“Our truck stop is overwhelmed by the volume of trucks hence many park outside which is not lawful though. The council is trying to find alternative land, this was once discussed in council but there hasn’t been a resolution,” he said.

Cllr Dlamini could not say whether the city has by-laws to regulate parking of the trucks.

Questions sent to council management had not been responded to by the time of going to print.

The truck drivers will be waiting for clearance to cross the border to Zambia or Botswana.

Some spend up to a month waiting for their documents.

Each truck, whether inside the truck stop or outside, is charged US$15 park fees for the whole period the truck is parked.

Drivers make fire to prepare their meals on the road side, posing the danger of starting veld fires.

The stretch of the road was also a traditional wildlife corridor as animals trek to the gorges.

A long-distance truck driver, Mr Gift Kapamba from Zambia, said they are also affected by dust while parked in the area.

Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association chairperson Mr Kelvin Moyo said residents have complained about the presence of haulage trucks.

“We are equally worried about the issue as it is both a health hazard especially for residents who live on the windward side and accident zone. We have received complaints from residents on the CBZ stands and we feel this should be speedily attended to. The council should provide alternative land for all trucks or come up with by-laws that regulate the situation there,” said Mr Moyo.

“However, there is no justification for people to see this as a hunting ground for commercial sex which we have seen happening. Besides sexually transmitted diseases there is also a danger of the spread of Covid-19 and accidents.”

A similar scenario is found at the Victoria Falls border where trucks block the no-man’s land between the Victoria Falls Bridge and Zimbabwean border and the entrance into the Rainforest.

Tour operators have complained about the issue at various fora saying their clients sometimes have to duck the trucks when walking to the bridge or entering the Rainforest.

Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe Matabeleland North chapter chairperson Mr Anald Musonza said while trucking business is a huge economic activity, it must be supported in a manner that allows other economic activities like tourism to survive.

“That issue needs urgent solution and trucks taken to designated parking sites. They have become a nuisance and blocking smooth movement of people in the city while also damaging roads. We are a tourism capital and the environment should be welcoming hence we need a more orderly parking process,” said Mr Musonza.

The presence of trucks negates the city’s drive towards a clean sustainable green tourism city.

Matabeleland North police spokesperson Inspector Glory Banda could not readily comment on the issue saying he had not been briefed on the situation on the ground.

Source:  Haulage trucks eyesore on Victoria Falls streets (02/09/2021)