Online Reporter
Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
MASHONALAND WEST has always been known for its agricultural prowess.
Its fertile soils have produced much of Zimbabwe’s maize, tobacco, cotton, wheat and livestock, earning the province a reputation as the country’s primary food basket.
Today, however, an unprecedented economic transformation is taking shape.
While agriculture remains the province’s backbone, Mashonaland West is steadily moving up the value chain by attracting industries that process local raw materials into finished products, generate energy, manufacture construction materials and assemble vehicles.
The province is increasingly becoming an integrated industrial economy where agriculture, mining, manufacturing and energy production reinforce one another, creating higher-value industries, skilled jobs and stronger local supply chains.
This evolution marks a significant departure from the traditional model of exporting raw materials with limited local beneficiation.
From Chegutu to the rapidly expanding Mt Hampden growth corridor in Zvimba district, billions of dollars’ worth of investments are laying the foundation for what is emerging as one of Zimbabwe’s most dynamic industrial provinces.
More importantly, these investments are not isolated projects.
They are creating an industrial ecosystem in which one industry feeds another.
Locally produced fertiliser supports agriculture, cement and bricks supply the booming construction sector, power plants provide energy security for factories, while improved infrastructure attracts even more investment.
Such industrial clustering reduces production costs, improves competitiveness, creates resilient supply chains and generates multiplier effects throughout the provincial economy.
Chegutu anchors industrial expansion
Chegutu is at the centre of this transformation.
It is rapidly evolving from a largely agricultural town into one of Zimbabwe’s newest industrial investment destinations.
One of the flagship investments is the US$500 million urea and ammonium nitrate fertiliser plant being developed by Chinese investor Broxmen Industrial Park.
The project forms part of an integrated coal-to-chemicals industrial complex that will also include a cement manufacturing plant and a 210-megawatt thermal power station.
Unlike conventional stand-alone factories, the complex has been designed as an integrated industrial operation where coal is converted into multiple value-added products including fertiliser, electricity and cement.
This helps maximise the utilisation of natural resources while reducing waste.
Once production begins in 2028, the fertiliser plant is expected to produce 350 000 tonnes of urea and 200 000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate annually.
The project is strategically important because fertiliser remains one of Zimbabwe’s largest agricultural imports.
Local production will significantly reduce import dependence, improve national food security, save foreign currency and ensure more reliable supplies for farmers.
Apart from supporting agriculture, the investment is expected to stimulate growth in transport, logistics, warehousing, engineering services, packaging and maintenance industries, creating a wider industrial value chain.
Broxmen Industrial Park public relations officer Mr Youliang Xiao said the project reflected the company’s long-term confidence in Zimbabwe.
“This coal-to-chemicals complex represents a major milestone in our long-term investment strategy in Zimbabwe. Once operational, the plant will produce fertiliser for both the local and regional markets,” he said.
Cement industry gathers momentum
Chegutu’s industrialisation is also being driven by massive investments in cement manufacturing.
Shuntai Investments is close to completing its US$100 million cement manufacturing plant, which will produce approximately 800 000 tonnes of cement annually when commissioned later this year.
The company is simultaneously constructing a 50-megawatt thermal power plant that will supply electricity for its operations while feeding excess electricity into the national grid.
The investment demonstrates how modern industries are increasingly becoming energy producers as well as manufacturers, reducing pressure on the national electricity network while improving production efficiency.
Company administrator Mr Jack Zhang said energy security was central to the company’s investment strategy.
“We want to be self-sufficient in our operations. We are also setting up a 50-megawatt thermal power plant with a view to feeding excess power into the national grid,” he said.
Shuntai’s investment will become the third major cement manufacturing operation in Mashonaland West after Whi-Zim’s cement plant in Magunje and Zimbabwe Huaxin Industry’s state-of-the-art facility in Mt Hampden.
Whi-Zim’s plant, established to exploit limestone deposits in northern Mashonaland West, has expanded Zimbabwe’s domestic cement production capacity while creating employment in Hurungwe district.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Huaxin Industry’s modern cement plant in Mt Hampden forms part of the rapidly developing New City industrial corridor and supplies cement for major infrastructure projects across the country.
The concentration of three major cement producers within one province is transforming Mashonaland West into Zimbabwe’s principal construction materials hub, supporting national infrastructure development while reducing reliance on imported building materials.
The industrial diversification in Chegutu extends beyond cement.
Heng Chang Investments is establishing a US$3 million brick manufacturing plant capable of producing 200 000 bricks daily.
The project is expected to create approximately 200 jobs while supplying bricks for Zimbabwe’s growing housing and infrastructure sectors.
Importantly, locating brick manufacturing close to raw material sources lowers transport costs, stimulates rural industrialisation and encourages development beyond major cities.
Managing director Ms Gina Yu praised Zimbabwe’s investment climate.
“Zimbabwe is a good country. The local people are very kind, and I am very happy to stay here and interact with the people,” she said.
Mt Hampden broadens the industrial base
While Chegutu is emerging as Mashonaland West’s manufacturing centre, Mt Hampden is rapidly establishing itself as the country’s newest industrial growth corridor.
The area, already home to the new Parliament building, the New City development and several manufacturing investments, is attracting industries that are diversifying the province beyond traditional agriculture.
Among the latest projects is the US$10 million Century Auto Assembly Plant, which is more than 95 percent complete.
Once operational, the plant will assemble up to 50 vehicles per shift, creating more than 150 direct jobs while developing local technical skills in automotive manufacturing.
The project is significant because vehicle assembly represents a higher level of industrial value addition.
Rather than importing fully built vehicles, Zimbabwe will increasingly assemble vehicles locally, creating employment, encouraging technology transfer and laying the groundwork for the gradual localisation of automotive components.
Managing director Mr Mohammud Jammal said the company was awaiting final regulatory approvals.
“Once operational, the plant will produce up to 50 vehicles per shift and create more than 150 direct jobs for Zimbabweans,” he said.
The assembly plant complements other manufacturing investments in Mt Hampden, including the Bronzepel Gas Cylinder Manufacturing Plant, further strengthening the district’s emergence as a diversified industrial node.
The rapid industrialisation taking place across Mashonaland West aligns with Zimbabwe’s broader industrialisation strategy, which prioritises value addition, beneficiation and import substitution as key pillars towards attainment of an empowered, modern, prosperous and highly industrialised country within the next four years.
Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Marian Chombo said the growing pipeline of investments demonstrated increasing investor confidence in the province.
“Zvimba and Chegutu are emerging as major investment destinations in Mashonaland West, attracting high-impact projects that create employment, enhance skills transfer and contribute to economic growth,” she said.
She noted that the province was increasingly becoming a model of Zimbabwe’s transition from an economy centred on exporting raw commodities to one driven by manufacturing and value addition.
“Mashonaland West’s transformation reflects the broader shift in Zimbabwe’s economic landscape, moving from exporting raw materials towards building industries that process local resources, create jobs and retain more value within the country,” she said.
The province’s industrial expansion is also expected to stimulate further investment in roads, electricity transmission, water infrastructure, housing, education and vocational training as demand grows from expanding industries.
As factories rise alongside farms, Mashonaland West is demonstrating that agriculture and industry are not competing sectors but complementary pillars of economic development.
Its abundant agricultural output is now increasingly serving as feedstock for manufacturing, while mining resources are being converted into cement, fertiliser and energy.
Together, these interconnected industries are creating a diversified economy capable of generating greater value, creating skilled employment and strengthening Zimbabwe’s industrial competitiveness.
Once known almost exclusively for its fertile fields, the province is steadily establishing itself as one of Zimbabwe’s fastest-growing industrial frontiers, proving that the province’s next harvest may well be manufactured rather than merely grown.
Bongani Ndlovu