Tagwirei company wins US$85 million Mbudzi interchange flyover tender

By Staff Reporter | Nehanda Politics |

Controversial business tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei has once again won a multimillion dollar (US$85 million) contract for the construction of the Mbudzi interchange flyover.

Through his company Fossil Contracting, fronted by Obey Chimuka, which specialises in civil works, contract mining, road construction, earth works, building, structural works and plant hire, Tagwirei will share the Mbudzi interchange flyover contract worth US$85 million in a consortium called TEFOMA that consists of Tensor Construction, Fossil Contracting and Masimba Holdings.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Felix Mhona said the companies contracted were capable of doing the job.

According to the Zim Morning Post, Mhona signed the US$85 million loan facility framework funding for the project with Fossil Contracting Managing Director Obey Chimuka at his offices in Harare on Tuesday. Chimuka has in the past sat on the board of Sakunda Supplies, according to his company’s website.

“As part of the loan facility, the financier will offer technical and construction facilities, hence a contractor, TEFOMA joint venture, will be appointed the engineering procurement and construction contractor for the project,” Mhona said.

Mhona added that as part of “financial inclusion, other local contractors will be subcontracted to perform certain works. The loan facility indicatively is US$85 million,” he said.

Mhona said all affected parties “will be compensated as provided for by the law and I appeal to all members of the public to be cooperative.”

“In Hopley residential area, all those who were residing within the road reserve were served with notices and most have complied and started demolishing their structures and relocating,” he said.

“Minister Mhona said diversion routes will be required to carry traffic during the construction of the Mbudzi interchange as the site will be closed to traffic,” he continued.

Recently, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) slapped sanctions on Tagwirei and his Sakunda Holdings for allegedly providing support to the Zanu PF regime and promoting corruption.

A report by Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project this week said Tagwirei, after being sanctioned for corruption, continued to do business by relocating his network to Mauritius.

Through Fossil Group, Tagwirei is receiving millions of dollars from the Zanu PF government for road construction contracts, while another one of his many companies, Landela Investments, reportedly received US$110 million from the government to import buses for the state run Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO).

The tycoon also combined his mining assets with the government to form an opaque company called Kuvimba. Nehanda Radio