Infralink has invited local companies to submit proposals for the $206m rehabilitation of the 800km Plumtree-Mutare highway in Zimbabwe.

The company is a special purpose vehicle joint venture company between the Zimbabwe National Road Authority and South African firm Group Five International.

Infralink has published a notice inviting companies to submit their interest to participate in the construction programme for the rehabilitation of the national road from Plumtree Border Post up to Forbes Border Post, which passes through Bulawayo, Harare and Mutare.

The rehabilitation project will consist of the construction of toll plazas, including plaza platform earthworks, plaza canopy foundations, plaza booths, water storage facilities and reticulation.

Group Five International, a subsidiary of Group Five Construction, will upgrade the Plumtree-Bulawayo, Bulawayo-Harare and Harare-Mutare sections of the highway. It will also manage the project and the new tolling points, which will replace the existing tollgates.

The highway will cover Bulawayo, Gweru, Kwekwe, Kadoma, Harare and Rusape up to Mutare, and will have at least nine toll plazas along the route to recover the investment.

Infralink is expected to start the construction work by the end of this month and completion of the project is expected to take three years.

The Plumtree-Mutare highway project is being financed by Development Bank of Southern Africa.