Willowvale Road Reopening Sparks Industrial Growth in Harare

Willovale Road Rehabilitation

HARARE — Zimbabwe’s industrial heartland is poised for a fresh economic surge as the rehabilitation of Willowvale Road and its newly constructed traffic circle is officially commissioned on Monday, 23 February 2026, by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Hon. Felix Mhona.

The strategically vital corridor linking Willowvale, Harare Drive, and Simon Mazorodze Road has long been a thorn in the side of logistics operators, commuters, and local residents due to crushing congestion and deteriorating surfaces. Its restoration unlocks a major “missing link” in the capital’s arterial network.

Boosting Business and Commuter Productivity

For manufacturers, transport firms, and family-run enterprises anchored around Willowvale, the reopening represents a critical win. Years of traffic snarls, deep potholes, and gridlocked intersections escalated operational costs through vehicle wear-and-tear and productivity losses. The newly laid asphalt, widened lanes, and traffic circle at the Chinzou Roundabout now promise to:

• Cut logistics turnaround times — especially for haulage vehicles transporting goods toward Harare’s CBD or the Beitbridge-bound highways.

• Improve commuter experience — reducing travel times for residents in Highfield, Glen Norah, Southerton, and Glen View.

• Support safer urban mobility — by integrating modern signage and bridge enhancements over the Mukuvisi River.

Urban infrastructure and mobility experts widely recognise road quality as a key determinant of economic competitiveness. Improved corridors such as Willowvale Road directly enhance Zimbabwe’s Ease of Doing Business metrics by lowering logistics friction and unlocking value for the manufacturing sector.

A Milestone Under the National Development Strategy 2

This commissioning is more than a ceremonial ribbon-cutting. It is one of the first major milestones under Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2: 2026–2030), the government’s blueprint for accelerating socioeconomic transformation toward a prosperous upper-middle-income society by 2030. NDS2 emphasises infrastructure as a core pillar, prioritising transport corridors, utilities, and urban services as enablers of inclusive growth and structural transformation.

Infrastructure projects like Willowvale Road reflect a shift from reactive maintenance to building a “modern, resilient infrastructure backbone,” a key theme echoed across national planning documents aimed at integrating stakeholders, including the private sector, into the delivery chain.

The government’s intent to leverage internal capacity, including domestic asphalt production and local contracting firms, also underscores a commitment to value-for-money outcomes and sustainable project roll-outs.

Private Sector: Time to Match Pace with Productivity

As Hon. Mhona prepares to symbolically “cross the Rubicon” at the reshaped Chinzou Roundabout tomorrow, the message to industry is unmistakable: the infrastructure foundation is now in place. What remains is for enterprises across Harare’s industrial belt to harness this improved connectivity, scale operations, and translate mobility gains into real economic output. The official opening will be hosted at the Southerton Police Station robots at "Chinzou"- Simon Mazorodze Road Roundabout. Also expected to attend are the ZanupF PCC members. Cde Goodwills Masimirembwa, the ZanuPF Harare Provincial Chairman, will also be there.

Willowvale Road reopening Harare industrial growth

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