Chronicle EditorProsper Ndlovu, Business Editor
BULAWAYO residents will acquire up to 30 percent shareholding in the multi-million dollar Egodini Shopping Mall construction project, the director of Terracotta Private Limited, Mr Thulani Moyo, has said.
The South African firm won the tender to build a state-of-the-art shopping mall about two years ago but nothing concrete has taken off.
The delays have led to speculation that the project has suffered a stillbirth with the council also stating that it did not have control over the operations of the company.
Responding to questions from The Chronicle on Friday, Mr Moyo said the $60 million project was ready to take off following finalisation of technical engagements, which have stalled progress. He said the company would hold a compulsory stakeholder briefing this Friday in Bulawayo meant to engage participants and clarify all issues about the project paving way for its implementation.
“We have further good news for the ordinary resident of Bulawayo. In our original tender submission to BCC, we committed to providing ordinary residents of Bulawayo with an opportunity to invest in the eGodini project once it had been sufficiently de-risked.
“We are therefore in the process of engaging a credible and independent financial adviser to put together a broad based retail equity scheme that will allow ordinary residents of the city to acquire up to a maximum of 30 percent shareholding in the project based on actual construction costs,” said Mr Moyo.
“The public offer will open in mid-2018 and will be targeted at specifically enabling the ordinary resident of Bulawayo to participate, making this project one that truly belongs to all the people of Bulawayo.”
On concerns over delays in the implementation of the project, Mr Moyo said in the last few months his company positively interacted with BCC in finalising plan approvals. Having incorporated final comments from BCC, he said updated plans were submitted last month and they were expecting the approvals soon.
“We, therefore, issued an advert to appoint a main building contractor for Phase 1 of the eGodini Project two weeks ago. We have received positive responses from various interested parties.
“A compulsory briefing session will be held on Friday 3 November 2017 and the tender will close on Friday 1 December 2017,” said Mr Moyo.
“Notwithstanding our own progress, we are also waiting for BCC to indicate when they will be ready to do site handover.”
He, however, anticipated challenges in accessing foreign currency to import certain major items such as an air conditioning plant and equipment for the bus terminal building.
Mr Moyo urged contractors to try and source all other materials and equipment locally as a contribution to the country’s Zim-Asset objectives.
“We acknowledge their patience but a major project of this nature is challenging to implement under our current economic climate. However, there are now opportunities for local contractors and suppliers to secure work,” said Mr Moyo.
“We especially want to encourage women and youth owned businesses to come and participate in the construction process. We look forward to finally being able to provide a clean working environment for informal traders and decent facilities for all public transport commuters.”
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter