The Sunday Mail
Chitungwiza will become a full-fledged city come 2018 as Government has approved the town’s massive expansion plan which encompasses new suburbs and business centres.
A dam and water works project worth US$400 million also figures in the envisaged new set-up that will extend towards Mahusekwa. The town council has already secured Edinburg, Tantallon, Cawdor, Dunottar and Braemar farms whose total area outsizes the present town. An architectural designer will soon be engaged. Town Clerk Mr George Makunde told The Sunday Mail that authorities were thinking big, planning to put together a world-class city. He said funding will be sourced through land swops.
“We are trying to change the face and outlook of Chitungwiza by expanding it into a city. We have already acquired the land and what remains is for the Lands and Rural Resettlement Ministry to transfer the requisite documents to the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.
“There should be clear direction on where the new city is headed between now and 2018. The development of the city is part of our strategic plan, which is running up to 2018.”Under the plan, a civic centre will likely be constructed in the Nyatsime area, forming a nexus from which various businesses will expand. New suburbs — including low-density ones — will also be developed in the area across the five acquired farms. In addition, council intends to construct a drinking water supply dam at Muda, 30km from Chitungwiza. It is understood that Town House has signed a Memorandum of Understanding mandating a local non-governmental organisation to secure a build-operate-transfer arrangement for the dam project. Secretary for Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Engineer George Mlilo said: “There is no problem with housing. We are hoping this will help solve the (housing) problem and also help the local authority control land development and prevent illegal settlements from sprouting.
“The Ministry of Lands has allocated land which will soon be handed over to our ministry and this land will be used to expand the town into a city.”
The proposed city feeds into Zim-Asset’s Infrastructure and Utilities Cluster which focuses on infrastructure rehabilitation and utility service recovery. It also envisages dam construction and consistent urban water supply. Government is — in keeping with this thrust — scheduled to begin constructing a new capital city in Mt Hampden within the next two years. The new metropolis fits into a grand strategy to decongest Harare whose population has ballooned to over 2,1 million. Designed in the mould of South Africa’s Sandton in Johannesburg, the city will house Government ministries, Parliament, residential areas, shopping malls, hotels and industries.
