Online Reporter
Judith Phiri
Zimpapers Reporter
BULAWAYO could emerge as a major downstream steel manufacturing and export hub, supporting Zimbabwe’s drive to deepen regional value chains and industrial integration under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
The proposed transformation comes as Zimbabwe prepares to host the 25th COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government from October 19 to 22, 2026, under the theme: “One Market, One Future: Advancing Inclusive Industrialisation, Investment and Regional Integration in COMESA.”
President Mnangagwa is expected to take over the chairmanship of the 21-member regional bloc from Kenyan President William Ruto for the 2026–2027 term.
The summit is expected to focus on industrialisation, regional value chains, trade and investment, placing Zimbabwe’s efforts to expand local manufacturing and value addition within a broader regional context.
At the centre of the country’s proposed industrial transformation is a steel corridor linking Dinson Iron and Steel Company’s (DISCO) operations at Manhize near Mvuma with Kwekwe and Bulawayo.
The initiative seeks to connect primary steel production with downstream manufacturing, creating opportunities for the production of higher-value goods for domestic, regional and export markets.
DISCO, a subsidiary of China’s Tsingshan Holding Group, is based at Manhize near Mvuma, where it operates an integrated iron and steel project comprising a carbon steel plant and an iron ore mine.
Speaking at the recent Bulawayo Investment Indaba, DISCO project manager Mr Wilfred Motsi, who was representing the company’s chief executive officer Mr Benson Xu, said Bulawayo was a critical component of the proposed steel corridor.
He said the corridor would initially link Manhize, Kwekwe and Bulawayo, with the three cities playing complementary roles in primary production, value addition and downstream manufacturing.
“We cannot do it alone as DISCO, but we also need partners so that at least we can produce so many products. This vision is about three cities to start with and one of the cities is Bulawayo where we are today,” he said.
“The other is Mvuma where we have Manhize and the other one is Kwekwe where we have Zisco Steel.”
Mr Motsi said primary steel products from Manhize could provide raw materials for downstream industries in Bulawayo, which already has factories, engineering companies and foundries capable of manufacturing higher-value products.
“For us to have mass production, we need steel billets, with the primary products. That primary product can be further sent to Zisco where they do value addition, but because we don’t have the facilities and factories, Bulawayo has the factory floor,” he said.
“So, what it means is that we do value addition and beneficiation in Bulawayo. This is the corridor, which we are saying can transform our economy and feed the entire SADC region.”
The proposed corridor could help expand domestic manufacturing by ensuring that more of Zimbabwe’s steel output is processed into finished and semi-finished products locally rather than being exported in primary form.
Mr Motsi said Bulawayo’s established industrial base and engineering skills made it an essential link in the proposed value chain, with the potential to restore the city’s position as a major industrial centre.
“We are saying, Bulawayo is not the missing link, it is the critical link for us. We already have the skill base as most engineering and foundry companies are here in Bulawayo and they do the value addition of the product, which we are purchasing,” he said.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Matabeleland Chapter past vice-president and businessman Mr Louis Herbst said Bulawayo’s strategic positioning presented significant opportunities for downstream manufacturing.
“DISCO gives us the opportunity to move beyond simply producing steel and start manufacturing what the region actually needs. Bulawayo already has the industrial footprint, engineering skills, workshops, transport links and entrepreneurial capacity to become a major downstream manufacturing centre,” he said.
Mr Herbst said the timing of the proposed steel corridor was significant, given Zimbabwe’s impending chairmanship of COMESA and the region’s demand for construction and industrial products.
He said the timing with Zimbabwe assuming the COMESA chairmanship is particularly significant.
“We are seeing growing investment in housing, cluster developments, mining and infrastructure across the region, all of which require steel products, engineering components, roofing, structural products, furniture, trailers and a wide range of manufactured goods,” said Mr Herbst
He said the economic benefits could extend beyond primary steel production through a multiplier effect involving local manufacturing, employment creation and regional exports.
“The real opportunity is the multiplier effect as DISCO supplies the steel, Bulawayo converts it into higher-value products, and those products are exported into SADC and the wider COMESA market,” said Mr Herbst.
Zimbabwe Institute of Foundries (ZIF) chief operations officer Mr Dosman Mangisi said Bulawayo’s geographical and industrial position made it strategically important to regional trade and manufacturing.
He said the city’s links with South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia, together with its industrial history, created opportunities for value addition and beneficiation.
“The city has got tracks of industrialisation where value addition was being done and closely sharing boundaries with the Midlands province, where a lot of raw materials come from. ZISCO’s plans to use Bulawayo as a steel corridor are positive moves that ignite economic growth in terms of value addition and beneficiation,” he said.
Mr Mangisi said Zimbabwe should use its forthcoming COMESA chairmanship to promote the processing of its mineral resources and position the country as a contributor to regional industrialisation.
