Bulawayo back in the furnace

Rutendo Nyeve, [email protected]
BULAWAYO’s industrial landscape is set for a major boost following a move by the Government to designate the city as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for steel, a strategic intervention linked to the country’s broader economic blueprint and the rising fortunes of the Manhize steel project.
The planned SEZ is not an isolated initiative. It is part of a deliberate Government thrust to reindustrialise key urban centres under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and its successor, NDS2, which prioritises value addition, beneficiation and export-led growth.
For Bulawayo, which was once the beating heart of Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector, the announcement represents a potential turning point after decades of industrial decline. Speaking at the recent Connect Africa Symposium held on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo, Minister of Finance, Economic
Development and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, confirmed that the declaration of the steel-focused SEZ is now imminent, following extensive engagement with industry players.
“We are going to declare a special economic zone for steel in Bulawayo soon. It is coming and it is because of the conversations we have been having around Bulawayo industries,” he said.
The proposed zone is designed to dovetail with the emergence of the Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Disco) plant in Manhize, near Mvuma — a flagship investment that is rapidly transforming Zimbabwe into a competitive steel producer.
By linking Bulawayo’s dormant industrial base with Manhize’s upstream steel production, the Government is effectively attempting to rebuild an integrated steel value chain, from raw material processing to fabrication and export.
Under the SEZ framework, participating firms are expected to benefit from targeted incentives, streamlined regulations and infrastructure support, which are key enablers meant to attract both domestic and foreign investment into steel processing, engineering and manufacturing.
More importantly, the initiative speaks to a broader Government strategy of formalising and scaling up economic activity. In Bulawayo, this is already evident through increased emphasis on skills development, industrial clustering and partnerships between established companies and emerging enterprises.
The Manhize-Bulawayo axis is thus emerging as a central pillar of Zimbabwe’s reindustrialisation agenda with Manhize supplying high-grade steel and Bulawayo reclaiming its role as a fabrication and manufacturing hub.
With steel demand across Africa projected to grow significantly driven by infrastructure development, urbanisation and industrial expansion, Zimbabwe is positioning itself to capture a share of this market. If successfully implemented, the Bulawayo steel SEZ could mark the revival of a city that once powered the nation’s economy and signal the return of Zimbabwe as a serious industrial player on the continent.
Addressing the same symposium, Zanu PF spokesperson Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, described the Manhize project as a “proof of concept” that has altered the country’s industrial trajectory.
“Zimbabwe is now having a proof of concept that an inland African country can have a steel plant, which is world-class. Now we have a world-class steel plant by a Fortune 500, 254 company in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Amb Mutsvangwa said the significance of this linkage lies in history. Bulawayo’s industrial ecosystem was once anchored by supplies from the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO) in Kwekwe.
Amb Mutsvangwa lamented the wasted potential of the city’s idle factories.
“Bulawayo was famous for steel fabrication and the steel came from ZISCO in Kwekwe, which collapsed alongside Bulawayo. All the factories around this place here are there now being used by religious groups for preaching on Sunday,” he said.
“The factories are there, the electricity is there, the road is there, the railway siding is there.”
He urged authorities to repurpose those assets, noting that Manhize now produces steel 10 times better than ZISCO ever could, and that Africa’s steel consumption is growing at 25 to 30 percent per annum.