Masuwe Special Economic Zone civil works to start end of year

 GOVERNMENT has said civil works on the Masuwe Special Economic Zone project in Victoria Falls will begin before the end of the year.

Last month, Cabinet approved the implementation of the Masuwe Special Economic Zone project following a feasibility study that found the scheme to be highly profitable.

Old Mutual carried out the feasibility study.

The Cabinet approval paves way for implementation of the project as the feasibility study has proven that the project is viable.

To set the ball rolling, Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu followed up by meeting the board and management of Mosi-oa-Tunya Development Company to discuss the implementation matrix.

Mosi-oa-Tunya Development Company (Pvt) Ltd, is a State Enterprise which was set up as an investment vehicle for the Government in the development of tourism in Victoria Falls.

It owns 274,1 hectares of prime land in Masuwe Estate, which is a significant complement of the Victoria Falls Special Economic Zone, about 10km out of the current city centre.

Speaking at Press briefing soon after listing of African Sun Limited on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange last Friday, Minister Ndlovu said much time had been wasted seeking services of a consultant.

However, the consultant is now in place hence work can begin.

“We had our feasibility study which was done by Old Mutual and the next step that follows involves mainly town planning and cadastre surveys.

“I was worried about time taken and we needed to get our timelines corrected hence now we have a Government entity called Zimbabwe National Geo Spartial Agency equipped to do most of the work and we are in talks with it to provide services,” said Minister Ndlovu.

He said with the feasibility study at hand, it was now time to open the area to investors
Government has over the years been courting investors to develop Masuwe which is set to become a modern city with state-of-the-art facilities.

Masuwe will have a multi-million dollar five-star hotel, and a 5 000-seater conference and exhibition centre, medical facilities, a golf estate and a shopping mall.

Government wants to make the tourism destination of Victoria Falls its conference capital, and this dovetails with the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition drive.

“We should be able to open that area for infrastructure investment towards the end of the last quarter of the year and so by the end of the year we want to see investors on the ground,” said Minister Ndlovu.

He said Government was open to private sector partnership and investment and will continue pushing the Zimbabwe is open for Business mantra.

The Mosi-oa-Tunya Development Company nine-member board chaired by Mrs Shiela Sidambe was appointed in 2021 and was given the mandate to deliver infrastructure development in Victoria Falls by expediting feasibility studies for bulk infrastructure and appropriate diligence to register the company’s presence with a solid brick and mortar project.

The Government expects that the company delivers on its mandate to grow the tourism product base in Victoria Falls and this is a must deliverable in the lifespan of the National Development Strategy (NDS1) (2021 to 2025).

The Masuwe area was declared a Special Economic Zone in order to ensure that the project raises funds for self-financing.

A Masterplan will be developed in order to guide implementation of the project. 

Source: Masuwe Special Economic Zone civil works to start end of year (19/04/2023)