Online Reporter
Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau
MIDLANDS Province has become the new face of Zimbabwe’s industrial revival, after attracting US$108 million investments in the second quarter of 2026 in cement, fertiliser and energy sectors.
The positive economic trajectory is anchored on production, productivity and value addition in line with Vision 2030.
According to the Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Owen Ncube the development is a story of a province turning mineral wealth into factories, jobs and power instead of exporting raw materials.
“The Midlands investment surge comes as the Second Republic, under the stewardship of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa, pushes to modernise and industrialise the economy and deliver a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society well before 2030,” he said.
The injection, drawn from both domestic and foreign investors, is already reshaping the province’s economic landscape.
At the heart of it are new plants for cement and fertiliser production and the generation of captive solar and thermal power to feed high-energy industrial consumers, especially ferrochrome processing plants.
Minister Ncube was speaking at a recent business conference in Gweru, when he announced that the US$108 million was a direct result of the engagement and re-engagement policy, devolution and ease-of-doing-business reforms that have opened the economy to private sector-led trade, investment and innovation.
“The province received US$108 million by the second quarter of 2026, invested in cement and fertiliser production and generation of captive solar and thermal power for high-energy industrial consumers, especially ferrochrome processing plants,” he said.
Furthermore, the Minister said the province responded positively to the Second Republic’s call to curb the export of raw lithium by promoting local value addition and beneficiation.
In this regard, he said DINSON Iron and Steel Company in Manhize and some lithium producers that include Zheli Lithium and Sandawana Mines invested massively towards establishment of iron and lithium processing plants in Chirumanzu, Zvishavane and Mberengwa, respectively.
“The Midlands Province is a proud beneficiary of the Second Republic’s socio-economic transformational agenda,” he said.
“We are seeing investments across all districts, anchored on moving the economy up the value chains.”
The shift is most visible in mining. Responding to the President’s call to curb the export of raw lithium, major players have committed to local processing.
“Instead of shipping raw ore, the province will now produce battery-grade lithium, steel inputs and other refined products for export and that aligns with National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) pillars on agriculture, food, climate and environment and inclusive economic growth and structural transformation,” he said.
Minister Ncube revealed that a key bottleneck to industrialisation has always been power but indicated that the new US$108 million package directly tackles that.
He mentioned new captive solar and thermal power plants are being built to supply ferrochrome smelters and other heavy users.
“For manufacturers, it means fewer outages, lower costs and the ability to plan production around consistent energy supply,” he said.
Minister Ncube said for cement and fertiliser plants coming online, it means raw materials mined in the Midlands can be processed locally, bagged locally and sold into regional markets at competitive prices.
“That cuts import dependence and creates jobs from the mine to the factory floor to the truck. Value addition is therefore not merely an economic strategy, it is a pathway towards economic transformation. It is about product and service competitiveness in global value chains,” he said.
Minister Ncube said the current push echoes commitments made by President Mnangagwa at his inauguration on 24 November 2017 before Chief Justice Luke Malaba, where he underscored positioning the country in readiness for economic growth, employment creation, equity, freedom and democracy and for the provision of vital social goods, principally health, shelter, clean water, education and other key social services.
Minister Ncube said with over US$108 million already deployed and more projects in the pipeline, Midlands Province is positioning itself as a trend-setter for Vision 2030 — a province where lithium becomes batteries, limestone becomes cement and sunlight becomes power for industry.
Eight years later, he said, Midlands is showing what that looks like in practice: factories, power lines and beneficiation plants replacing the old model of digging and shipping.
According to Dr Tinashe Manzungu, a businessman with extensive professional and entrepreneurial experience who has established various businesses in Zimbabwe, the business climate has changed over the years.
With policy consistency now backed by the Presidential assent to Constitutional Amendment Act Number 3 of 2026, investors cite four gains: guaranteed political stability, stronger investment inflows, policy consistency and leadership continuity.
“We now have a cordial working relationship with all stakeholders. That alignment is what makes US$108 million possible and what will bring the next US$500 million,” he said.
Dr Manzungu said the impact is already being felt on the ground as construction jobs have spiked around the province and the country at large.
Dr Smelly Dube of River Valley Group of Companies commended the Second Republic for putting in place pro development policies which have resulted in positive business development in sectors such as mining, construction and agriculture.
“There is also the need to find practical solutions that add value to our raw mineral and agricultural products. We are happy that as a country we are producing but now we need to improve on processing and selling finished and semi-finished goods,” she said.
As one investor put it during the conference: “The raw materials have always been here. What’s new is the will to add value here. That is production. That is productivity. That is Vision 2030.”
