Online Reporter
George Maponga
Masvingo Bureau
MASVINGO Province is undergoing an unprecedented industrial revival anchored on value addition, beneficiation and agro-processing projects that are transforming the province into one of the country’s fastest-growing economic hubs.
From sugar processing and chrome smelting to lithium beneficiation, sesame processing and renewable energy generation, a wave of investments sweeping across the province is laying the foundation for an achievable target of growing Masvingo into a US$8 billion provincial economy by 2030.
The resurgence echoes the ingenuity that once made Great Zimbabwe the centre of trade, commerce and innovation in Southern Africa.
Today, under the Second Republic, that spirit is finding expression through a growing network of processing plants, manufacturing facilities, mining investments and industrial parks that are creating jobs and driving economic growth.
Permanent Secretary for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa said industrialisation had become a key pillar of the province’s development strategy.
Agriculture remains the largest contributor to provincial gross domestic product (GDP), accounting for 19 percent, but its growing impact is now increasingly being driven by value addition and processing industries that are emerging across the province.
Mining is also attracting major investments, creating opportunities for downstream industries and beneficiation.
One of the province’s flagship industrial projects is the Development Trust of Zimbabwe (DTZ)’s 30 000-hectare greenbelt project at Nuanetsi Ranch in Mwenezi.
Beyond agricultural production, the project is designed to create a fully integrated agro-industrial complex centred on sugar, ethanol, citrus and stock-feed processing.
DTZ general manager Mr Emmanuel Jaricha said the project would fundamentally transform Mwenezi’s economic landscape.
“A new town will emerge at Nuanetsi Ranch thanks to this greenbelt project that we are developing and mapping of the area where the new town will be built has already been completed,” he said.
“Mwenezi will never be the same again and so far, US$70 million has been sunk in this greenbelt project that will see not only development of new cane fields but also citrus plantations and lucerne.
“To date more than 1 200 direct jobs have been created and we are still counting. Eventually the goal is to build sugar and ethanol processing plants here at Nuanetsi where we will value-add the cane, creating jobs and contributing to export receipts.”
Mr Jaricha said they envisage that at full consummation, the green belt project will contribute US$2 billion annually to Zimbabwe and Masvingo’s gross domestic product.
The project has already brought more than 3 000 hectares under sugarcane production and is expected to stimulate the establishment of a new industrial town centred on agro-processing.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda described the greenbelt project as evidence of the growing capacity of local investors to drive industrialisation.
‘’This greenbelt project shows that indigenous Zimbabweans have the capacity to develop their own country and they are heeding President Mnangagwa’s mantra of ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo’.
“It is very evident that Masvingo Province’s target to grow into a US$8 billion economy by the year 2030 is very achievable,” said Dr Soda.
The province’s industrial resurgence is also being driven by the US$40 million Kilimanjaro Sugar Project in Chiredzi.
The project, a partnership involving Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe, Government and local financial institutions, is expanding sugarcane production to support increased sugar and ethanol manufacturing.
The initiative dovetails with the national sugar industry strategy, which seeks to raise annual sugar output while increasing ethanol production.
In Mwenezi, the Rutenga Multi-Service Centre has become a model for rural industrialisation.
The facility processes sesame, sunflower and paprika into higher-value products, creating employment while providing farmers with a reliable market.
According to Sustainable Agriculture Technology (SAT) manager Mr Siyanai Zingwena, the plant has transformed the economics of sesame production in southern Masvingo.
“Our sesame farmers used to be short-changed by unscrupulous sesame dealers from Mozambique who paid them peanuts, but after we built this plant, our local sesame farmers have been benefiting immensely because we pay competitive prices for their sesame, sunflower seed and paprika.
“We also help them to produce through extension expertise and inputs support, thereby boosting incomes of our rural farmers while also earning the country more foreign currency through increased exports of sesame and sunflower oil and paprika powder,” said Mr Zingwena.
Another milestone in the province’s industrialisation journey is the Rutenga Marula Value Addition and Beneficiation Plant, which was commissioned by President Mnangagwa in 2022.
The facility converts marula fruit into wines, body oils and stockfeed, creating a commercial value chain around a resource that previously generated limited economic returns.
National Biotechnology Authority chief executive Dr Dexter Savadye said the project was opening new opportunities for communities.
“On average, we purchase more than 200 tonnes of the mapfura/marula fruit from villagers during the peak harvesting season of the fruit from January to April every year, and we process the fruit to produce top-tier and world-class wines, body oils and also stock feeds.
We have since acquired commercial licences to supply the local market, and we are exploring lucrative markets all over the world for our products that come from beneficiation of the marula/mapfura fruit,” he said.
The revival of industry is equally evident in the mining sector.
The US$70 million Zimbabwe Zhongxin Chrome Smelting Company in Mashava has breathed new life into the former asbestos-mining town by establishing local chrome processing capacity.
The smelter processes thousands of tonnes of chrome ore every month, creating employment while reducing exports of raw minerals.
At Bikita Minerals, the shift towards mineral beneficiation is gathering momentum.
Since acquiring the lithium mine, Sinomine has invested heavily in processing infrastructure capable of producing spodumene concentrate, caesium and petalite.
The company is now preparing to establish a lithium sulphate plant as Zimbabwe intensifies its push for local mineral beneficiation.
“We have secured US$500 million to build a lithium sulphate plant here at Bikita Minerals and land for the project has already been identified.
“We hope that our lithium sulphate plant will be up and running in the second quarter of next year and this will be the first phase of the project that will produce 60 000 tonnes of lithium sulphate annually.
The second and final phase is due for commissioning in the first quarter of 2028 and will produce 65 000 tonnes of lithium sulphate, taking our annual lithium sulphate production to 125 000 tonnes.’’
The province is also strengthening industrial support infrastructure.
At Rutenga, construction of seven artificial intelligence-powered grain silos with a combined storage capacity of 56 000 tonnes is nearing completion, enhancing storage and processing opportunities for traditional grains.
Renewable energy projects are further underpinning industrial growth.
The 5MW Great Zimbabwe Hydro Power Plant at Lake Mutirikwi is already feeding electricity into the national grid, while the 17MW Tugwi-Mukosi Hydro Power Project is expected to come on stream by year-end.
Together, these investments are helping create the conditions required for sustained industrial growth by improving power supply, strengthening value chains and promoting beneficiation.
For Masvingo, the story is no longer just about producing raw agricultural and mineral commodities. It is increasingly about processing, manufacturing and creating value locally.
The hallmarks of a province positioning itself as one of the country’s emerging industrial powerhouses.
