Gweru mayor Martin Chivhoko says council plans to turn its aerodrome into a cargo airport, a move expected to boost business development in the Midlands capital.
Speaking at a recent full council meeting, Chivhoko said an agreement with a private partner for the commencement of the airport project will be signed soon.
“We are working on upgrading the Gweru aerodrome into a fully-fledged specialised cargo airport,” he said.
“In the next few months we will be doing a groundbreaking ceremony after completing the paperwork process.”
He said the move was part of the many projects council has lined up as part of the city’s business growth.
Chivhoko said other projects that the local authority intends to undertake include the resuscitation of its beer entity, Go Beer, which is expected to commence production in eight months’ time.
He said the council had long term plans to carry out business ventures that enhance its revenue streams.
Over the years the local authority has been facing challenges in providing service delivery to residents owing to lack of financial resources.
Gweru United Residents and Ratepayers Association Trust executive director David Chikore said council needed to speed up its income generating projects to improve on key service delivery areas such as water and sanitation provision.
“All these are noble ideas but they should start running on the ground to improve council revenue streams so that as ratepayers we also benefit from improved service delivery,” he said.
Council is owed over ZWL$79 billion by debtors and mainly relies on rates for its operations.
Source NewsDay
