adminGeorge Maponga in Masvingo
Masvingo’s quest to transform into a developed city by 2030 has received a major boost as a private company, Suncoast Housing, has started developing the city’s first gated community, with more than 3 000 houses in a smart city concept being rolled out at Victoria Ranch on the western fringes of the country’s oldest town.
The multi-million dollar project is being developed by Suncoast in partnership with Forit Contracting with this partner having already moved its equipment on-site to start servicing of the stands.
This will be the first gated community in Masvingo City with Suncoast’s housing project set to include high, medium and low density housing stands. Under the project, land has also been set aside for commercial use to cater for shopping malls, pharmacies, schools and clinics as Suncoast Housing adopts latest trends in housing development in line with Vision 2030.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony last Friday, Deputy Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities Yeukai Simbanegavi paid tribute to Suncoast and Forit for concieving the project that she said will change the real estate complexion of Masvingo City.
The Deputy Minister noted that Government alone could not end the national housing backlog and challenged private companies to also invest in housing development.
“This is a good example of private-public partnership and as Government we applaud such initiatives as they help stem the housing backlog in our cities and towns and dovetails with President Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind in line with Vision 2030.
“We are very happy with such projects especially considering that the project developers are prioritising servicing of the land to make sure beneficiaries will have services such as roads, sewers and water,’’ said Deputy Minister Simbanegavi.
She reiterated Government’s tough stance against land barons who just pocket money from home seekers without investing part of the money to service the land.
Speaking at the same event, Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira also praised Suncoast Housing for investing in housing development in Masvingo City.
‘’We are happy as a province that Suncoast Housing and its partner Forit are developing this housing project that will cater for beneficiaries from all classes as this city’s first gated community will have high, medium and low density housing stands, which means everyone is catered for here and this resonates with President Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind.
“I am also happy that Suncoast directors saw it fit to come and invest in Masvingo and they are indeed taking a cue from our President Dr ED Mnangagwa’s doctrine of ‘Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo’.
“This project has the full backing of Government and we are happy that the project developers are already hitting the ground running in servicing the land to make sure there is water, roads and sewers,’’ said Minister Chadzamira.
“Projects like this being developed by Suncoast and Forit will actually help our country achieve our Vision 2030 targets earlier and as a local authority we stand ready to work closely with the project developers to make sure this project is a success.’’
Online Reporter