Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, [email protected]
FINANCE, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, on Monday held high-level discussions with China State Construction Engineering Corporation in Beijing as Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to advance the development of the Mt Hampden New City and attract strategic infrastructure partnerships.
The engagement forms part of Government’s broader drive to transform Mt Hampden into a modern urban and economic hub that will support industrialisation, innovation and investment under Vision 2030.
In an update, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion said discussions focused on strengthening technical and financial cooperation for the ambitious project, which is expected to become a flagship development under Zimbabwe’s long-term modernisation agenda.
“The discussions with CSCEC leadership led by Chairman Wang Wei and President Chen Lie focused on possible deepening of technical and financial collaboration for the planned New City outside Harare, which will ideally have data centres to support Artificial Intelligence and become an economic zone.
“The project, already in its early stages with some enabling works completed, is envisioned as a flagship urban development under Zimbabwe’s long-term modernisation drive,” said the ministry.
The Mt Hampden New City is being developed as a modern smart city anchored on the recently completed Parliament Building and other strategic Government infrastructure.
Authorities envision the city as a key economic growth node that will accommodate commercial, residential, institutional and technology-driven developments while easing pressure on Harare.
According to the ministry, a central feature of the Beijing engagement was CSCEC’s presentation of its internationally acclaimed new city development models, which have been implemented in several countries.
“A central feature of the engagement was CSCEC’s presentation of its internationally implemented new city development models, showcasing its end-to-end delivery capacity from conceptual design and planning to financing, construction and full infrastructure rollout.
“Among the highlighted examples were Xiong’an New Area, New Administrative Capital and major developments in Indonesia, all cited as large-scale modern urban developments where CSCEC has played a leading role,” the ministry said.
The examples provided Zimbabwe with insights into how large-scale urban developments can be executed through integrated planning, financing and infrastructure delivery models.
During the visit, the Zimbabwean delegation toured CSCEC’s exhibition hall, where it viewed a range of completed and ongoing projects undertaken by the company across China and international markets.
The exhibition showcased the corporation’s engineering expertise, smart city technologies and integrated infrastructure development systems, areas considered critical to the successful delivery of the Mt Hampden New City.
The ministry said CSCEC expressed strong interest in participating in Zimbabwe’s urban transformation programme and indicated its readiness to support the project through technical and financial collaboration.
“CSCEC officials expressed interest in supporting Zimbabwe’s New City project, indicating readiness to deploy technical expertise, advanced construction technologies, financing models and project execution capacity.
“However, they emphasised that the responsibility for overall planning and strategic direction remains with the Government of Zimbabwe, with CSCEC positioned as an implementation and technical partner,” said the ministry.
The discussions come as Zimbabwe accelerates infrastructure development as a key enabler of economic growth, industrialisation and investment attraction.
The ministry noted that the engagement aligns with the objectives of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), particularly the infrastructure development pillar, which prioritises the creation of modern urban centres, industrial growth corridors and investment-driven economic transformation.
The meeting also provided an opportunity for Prof Ncube to present Zimbabwe’s improving economic fundamentals and investment prospects to one of the world’s largest construction and engineering companies.
“The Hon Minister also highlighted Zimbabwe’s macroeconomic stability, presenting it as a key foundation for attracting long-term infrastructure partnerships and sustaining large-scale developments such as the Mt Hampden New City,” the ministry said.
First let’s look for an appropriate name for this city. Mt. Hampden isn’t Zimbabwe enough. Second, when one observes that a fully fledged state deals with a company, just a company, in the industrialised world, it shows how far behind we are in terms of development. Zimbabwe is rich. It’s mineral wealth is second to South Africa but in terms of general development ratings, she lies at number 9 on the continent. Zimbabwe is 46 years old but still is at number 9. Something is obviously not being done well. Our minerals are being siphoned out of the country while we gloat about impressive economic growth that isn’t there. Things should be done differently. We have many “doctors” in every sphere of our lives but we don’t seem to get much out of this advantage. What are these doctorates for if they cannot be used to develop the country?