By Correspondent
After several missed deadlines, Egodini Mall in Bulawayo is set to be finished by April, allowing the buses to move in according to responsible officials.
During a media tour on Friday at the site, Terracotta Trading Limited Director Thulani Moyo admitted that they are way behind schedule but said the taxi rank side would be done in April.
Road works will then commence in February, and are expected to end in March.
“By the end of this month, we would have finished at least a side for taxi rank.
“We will then start by putting taxi rank roads which you will see coming up at the beginning of February.
“From there once they have sealed that, we anticipate brickwork for informal traders’ stalls. Those should start coming up, it’s long delayed but we had to get the underground stuff right.
“Our projections are that we will complete the taxi rank in mid-April.
“Zupco taxis and Zupco buses will then come back on site and then we will continue other works focusing on the informal traders, for Phase1A,” said Moyo.
Bulawayo Town Clerk, Christopher Dube, said council was under pressure from its stakeholders hence Terracotta had to stick to its new timelines.
“We were under immense pressure from transport companies, vendors, residents and indeed the government were asking what is going on at the site,”
Moyo attributed the delay of the works to Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
Six Years Old Project
In 2016, the Bulawayo City Council awarded Terracotta Trading Limited a US$60 million tender for the refurbishment of the Basch Street terminus, popularly known as Egodini.
The contractor started working on the project in March 2018, resulting in the relocation of vendors and public transport operators who traded at the site.
With hopes of completing the first phase of the project by November 2019, the contractor missed the deadline and set another one for March 2020, which was also missed.
The project has failed to commence leading to a public outcry from residents and also councilors who have called for the contract to be terminated.
Last year in May the project was said to have started and the first phase completion was set for August 2021, alas the deadline was botched, again.
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