Harare – The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has announced the commencement of full-scale construction works at the Msasa Interchange along the Harare– Mutare Road, marking a significant milestone in the Government’s ongoing efforts to decongest the capital and modernise the country’s road network.

In a statement, the Ministry confirmed that site hoarding has been completed, equipment fully mobilised, and earthworks are now underway at the junction of Harare Drive and Mutare Road, where the existing roundabout is being replaced with a modern grade-separated interchange. The project is the second of four modern interchanges planned across Harare’s eastern highways.

Once complete, the Msasa Interchange is expected to ease chronic congestion at one of Harare’s busiest junctions, enhance road safety, and improve the efficient movement of people and goods along the eastern corridor, a key route for commercial, industrial and commuter traffic linking Zimbabwe to Mozambique. The Ministry has targeted completion by November 2026.

The project forms part of the Greater Harare Interchanges Programme, a flagship infrastructure initiative under the Second Republic’s broader Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP2). Since the advent of the Second Republic, the Government has embarked on an expansive road rehabilitation drive, with ZiG15.7 billion allocated for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of over 44 000 kilometres of road network.

Key projects underway include the dualisation of the Harare-Mutare Highway, the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road upgrade, the Harare-Mazowe Road dualisation, and rehabilitation works on the Marondera-Hwedza Road, among others. The Mbudzi Interchange, another major milestone, has reached 74 percent completion.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona has consistently underscored the Government’s commitment to delivering quality infrastructure within stipulated timelines.

“I am happy that we, as a ministry, have made progress on road construction. We have been busy planning and we have got our roads at our fingertips,” said Minister Mhona. “When you talk of Harare and other provinces, we can articulate what we are doing”.

On the broader impact of the interchanges programme, the Minister emphasised the strategic importance of the eastern corridor.

“So just to mention a few, when it comes to the interchanges, we have been talking about the Mabvuku interchange in terms of decongestion and also in terms of linking to the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and servicing the industrial sector within the Msasa area,”

Minister Mhona said. “We will also attend to the Jaggers intersection that you know we are concurrently working on, as we are working on the Mabvuku Interchange. We are also widening Harare Drive”.

The Msasa Interchange is one of several road projects being implemented under the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 infrastructure blueprint, which aims to attain an upper-middle-income economy status through modernised transport networks.

The Ministry has assured the public of regular updates on the project’s progress and has urged motorists to observe traffic signage and exercise caution during the construction phase.