Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe-Zimpapers Business Hub
The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce has identified seven underutilised industrial and economic growth corridors around Bulawayo, noting that developing them could restore the city as Zimbabwe’s hub for industrialisation and value addition under the National Development Strategy 2.
According to the chamber’s latest Ease of Doing Business and Policy Alignment Report, Bulawayo has strategic advantages for industrial expansion, including its transport connectivity, available land, proximity to regional markets and existing industrial base.
The report says Bulawayo enters the NDS2 period with significant untapped industrial assets that could help the city compete for investment not only within Zimbabwe but also against regional centres such as Botswana’s Gaborone and Francistown, as well as South Africa’s Polokwane.
Decades of economic challenges eroded Bulawayo’s manufacturing base, leaving empty warehouses and leading businesses to relocate to the capital, Harare
The new corridors ZNCC has identified are Umguza, Nyamandlovu, Airport Road, Esigodini, Matobo, Figtree and the Victoria Falls Road Industrial Corridor, each presenting distinct opportunities for manufacturing, logistics, agro-processing, tourism and value-addition industries.
ZNCC argues that while policy reforms and infrastructure improvements remain important, Bulawayo’s biggest economic opportunity lies in converting underutilised land into serviced industrial zones capable of attracting both domestic and foreign investment.
According to the report, the Umguza Corridor offers extensive land for mixed industrial estates, agro-processing facilities and large-scale housing developments, while the Nyamandlovu Corridor presents opportunities for water-dependent agro-industries, timber processing and horticultural value chains anchored on the strategic Nyamandlovu aquifer.
The Airport Road Corridor, situated along the route to Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport, has been identified as the city’s premium gateway investment zone.
ZNCC says the corridor is suited for air cargo operations, logistics hubs, courier services, cold-chain facilities, hotels and conference infrastructure.
“This corridor is the natural site for a services- and logistics-oriented Special Economic Zone (SEZ) application and for showcasing investment-ready, pre-serviced stands to ZIDA-channelled investors,” the report says.
The Esigodini Corridor, strategically located along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge highway and railway line, presents opportunities for warehousing, container depots, truck stops, mining supply industries and regional distribution centres targeting both the South African and domestic markets.
ZNCC also identifies the Matobo Corridor as a tourism-driven growth zone with potential for hospitality infrastructure, arts and crafts industries and small business development linked to the Matobo Hills World Heritage Site.
To the west, the Figtree Corridor provides direct access to Botswana and the Trans-Kalahari trade route, creating opportunities for bonded warehouses, livestock value chains, renewable energy projects and cross-border logistics facilities.
However, it is the Victoria Falls Road Industrial Corridor that the chamber believes offers the quickest route to industrial expansion.
The corridor, which follows existing road, rail and power infrastructure, is earmarked for heavy and medium industry, timber and coal processing and trade services linked to the Hwange and Victoria Falls economies.
Because key trunk infrastructure already exists, the corridor offers the lowest servicing costs per industrial hectare and should form the first phase of any industrial land release programme, the report says.
ZNCC argues that development of these corridors would address what it identifies as Bulawayo’s most significant industrial constraint — a shortage of serviced industrial land.
“The binding constraint on manufacturing investment in Bulawayo is serviced land, not demand,” the report says.
Business strategist with ConsultWorld Enterprise, Mr Busani Malaba, said the corridor concept aligns with Zimbabwe’s broader industrialisation agenda and could help revive Bulawayo’s status as the country’s manufacturing capital.
“Industrial growth is increasingly driven by well-planned economic clusters where infrastructure, logistics and production activities are integrated. Bulawayo already has a strong industrial heritage and strategic geographic advantages.
“If authorities can unlock serviced industrial land and provide supporting infrastructure, these corridors can become magnets for both domestic and foreign investment,” he said.
Mr Malaba said investors are increasingly seeking ready-to-develop industrial sites with efficient transport connections and predictable regulatory processes, factors that make corridor development an attractive proposition.
Development economist Mrs Rukudzo Mailela said the proposal reflects a growing recognition that regional growth centres will play a critical role in achieving NDS2 targets.
“Bulawayo’s location gives it natural access to regional markets in Botswana, South Africa and Zambia. The city can leverage that position to build logistics, manufacturing and value-addition industries.
“What is important now is moving beyond planning to implementation through coordinated investment in roads, utilities, digital systems and investor support mechanisms,” she said.
The chamber further notes that deliberate corridor development would reduce congestion within the city, create logistics hubs outside the central business district, attract new manufacturing investment and significantly expand municipal revenues through rates, development charges and service fees.
ZNCC believes Bulawayo’s strategic location gives it a competitive advantage over regional cities such as Gaborone, Francistown and Polokwane.
“A Bulawayo with available industrial land, an airport SEZ and functioning corridors competes for investment with Gaborone, Francistown and Polokwane, not merely with Harare,” the report adds.
