The Sunday News
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
BEITBRIDGE Municipality is working in partnership with the Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) to create a special purpose vehicle to promote investment in one of the country’s fastest growing town.
The town’s housing and development officer, Dr Nicholas Muleya said the town was recently gazetted as a Special Economic Zone by Government and hence the need to prime it as an investment destination of choice in the country and Sadc region.
He said so far they had availed 248 hectares of land that would house SEZ projects to include heavy and light industries. Dr Muleya said they had already set up a committee which has three main sub-committees working on planning, infrastructure development and funding and investment promotion.
“The SEZ concept is part of our greater local economic development plan and we have fitted it into our long term development strategy. We have many investment opportunities in areas including agro-based industries, canning, tannery, manufacturing, transport and logistics, ICT, tourism and culture, health, mining, education, accommodation and recreation, dry ports, bonded warehouses, oil processing, glass manufacturing, citrus production and value addition of related products, shipping and forwarding and airport among others.
“Soon after getting the SEZ status we met with authorities from ZIA and the two local authorities to map the way forward on how best to package our products. The land has been availed, surveyed and pegged and we are waiting for the Department of Physical Planning to complete the master plan so that people can effectively enjoy the economic benefits. We are calling upon investors to contact our offices for guidance on how they can make the best out of the town’s transformation and modernisation. So far we are getting many enquiries on property development”.
Dr Muleya said ZIA and the local authority were in the process of coming up with a company to independently administer the affairs of the SEZ. He said the official would be drawn from the two major entities.
“We still have further opportunities for those to do feasibility studies and setting primary structures and support services at the designated SEZ area. At the same time we implore Government to consider availing more funds for infrastructure development projects in that area. Yes, we can do our best as a local authority but we need to service the larger part of the land with sewer and water and roads and electricity. This requires a lot of capital injection,” said Dr Muleya.
He said the local authority was also marketing its investments products at various forums including local business expos and the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, among others.
The official said though the town is growing rapidly in terms of property development it was important to match that with the growth of both light and heavy industries.
