THE government has disbursed over ZiG$30 million towards the long-awaited completion of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) library in Bulawayo, marking a significant step forward for the institution’s infrastructure development.

The NUST library project, which had stalled for years due to funding constraints, is now set to resume following the release of funds by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development.

“The library is an important aspect of the University, it is standing like a sole piece in the centre of a lot of excellence around the University so we want it cleaned up, we want it completed, we want it utilised,” the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Ambassador Frederick Shava said.

With the institution’s incomplete library surrounded by a lot of excellence such as the innovation hub and the Professor Phineas MaKhurane Technovation, its completion is expected to enhance the university’s quest to be a technology-driven centre for learning.

“That library is no longer going to be a depository of all these physical books but of ebooks and ICT resources,” NUST’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Mqhele Dlodlo said.

The government funding towards NUST’s library comes after a Structural Integrity Assessment certified the building as fit for continued construction.