Kwekwe CBD expansion attracts US$22m investment

KWEKWE City Council’s central business district (CBD) expansion project has attracted more than US$22 million in new investment as businesses seek to tap into the new opportunities.

The local authority has embraced the smart city concept as it moves to the new CBD where a number of new buildings are being constructed.

The Government is working on embracing the smart city concept as a prerequisite for “leaving no one and no place behind”, a major thrust under President Mnangagwa’s inclusive empowerment drive.

A smart city is one that uses information communication technologies to improve operational efficiency, share information with the public and provide better quality Government services and citizen welfare.

The country made a decision to create smart cities and the Government of Zimbabwe adopted these principles in 2018 at the advent of the New Dispensation.

Kwekwe has already serviced the land for the new CBD Railway Reserve and commercial malls are earmarked to be developed at Mbizo 21, 17, Extension and Southwood Shopping Centre.

The local authority is working with the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida) in packaging and marketing investment opportunities and has lured several investors. The development is set to create more job opportunities for locals.

To facilitate private sector-led investment, the local authority is working on improving the ease of doing business and reducing the costs to ensure an enabling environment for investments to thrive.

Kwekwe town clerk, Dr Lucia Mkandla, said the ease of doing business has seen investors flocking to the city’s new CBD, where construction work is at various stages.

“Investors are coming to Kwekwe because they are encouraged by our governance approach. The total investment is estimated at US$22 million. As administration our role is to encourage investors to develop land as opposed to keeping it for speculative purposes,” she said.

Dr Mkandla said the local authority follows up to see if the investors are adhering to the city’s set conditions for development.

“We do follow-ups to ensure adherence to our conditions for development. We are also proud to note that we are the only city that has constant water supplies throughout the week and has a clean and peaceful environment,” she said.

Kwekwe has investment opportunities for strategic partnership in areas such as wire making, iron and steel, ferrochrome, fertiliser manufacturing, mining and other related industries.

Some of the investors include Global Union Alloys, Bentouch, OK Zimbabwe (Bon Marche), DCK, Dendairy and Zimasco. Priority investment opportunities include biogas production, solar power generation, quarry stones crushing and water bottling.

The council’s finance committee chairperson Councillor Silas Mukaro has said the local authority is providing an enabling environment for private sector investment to thrive.

“This has seen more investors coming to invest in the city and creating employment. We are working closely with Zida in packaging and marketing our investment opportunities,” he said. — @pchitumba1.