Online Reporter
Sikhulekelani Moyo
Zimpapers Business Hub
THE planned designation of Bulawayo as an Integrated Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will revive the city’s industrial base and attract domestic and international investment, Speaker of Parliament AdvocateJacob Mudenda has said.
This comes after the Cabinet approved the framework for Integrated Provincial Special Economic Zones on May 26, 2026, decentralising industrial development across all 10 provinces to leverage regional comparative advantages.
The framework establishes specialised zones aligned to each province’s comparative advantage, structured as complete industrial ecosystems integrating upstream production, midstream processing, downstream manufacturing, logistics, infrastructure and services within a single provincial production cluster.
The policy, administered through the Zimbabwe Investments and Development Agency Act, aims to build complete industrial ecosystems spanning production, midstream processing, logistics and services.
These zones will bring substantial tax, financial and logistical incentives to drive regional growth, job creation and export-oriented industrialisation
Speaking during a capacity building workshop on Budget Analysis in Bulawayo recently, Adv Mudenda said Bulawayo will follow Matabeleland North in receiving SEZ status.
The Bulawayo SEZ will cover agro-processing, tourism, renewable energy and diamond processing.
“I would like to inform you that very soon, Bulawayo is going to be declared an integrated special economic zone. You are the next after Matabeleland North in the north. Hopefully, that will encourage domestic and international investors,” he said.
Adv Mudenda recalled Bulawayo’s industrial heyday and said the goal is to restore it.
“And once more, as we grew up, some of us, coming into Bulawayo, you could see the smoke burning up the skies. And people will be singing… That was the Bulawayo of yesterday, and we want to create the Bulawayo of today.”
Similarly, four SEZs have been declared in Matabeleland North, focusing on energy (such as coal and solar) and tourism.
The Matabeleland South integrated SEZ will focus on logistics, beef production, leather processing and solar energy.
