Debra Matabvu
THE Government has started servicing tracts of land in Mt Hampden where the country’s new commercial and administrative headquarters will be located, with allocation of stands set to begin thereafter as development of the new city gathers momentum.
This comes after the Government recently repossessed 47 farms straddling 15 500 hectares around the new city from Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central provinces.
The land is expected to accommodate more than 1,5 million residents.
Work on offsite infrastructure has also begun, while the authorities have started identifying railway and bus termini sections.
Final plans on the expansion of the Charles Prince Airport are set to be completed by November this year. Further, the Government continues to push for the completion of 18 residential villas, which are part of the new city.
The new city concept was approved by Cabinet in December 2018, with the opening of the new Parliament building — the nucleus around which a new metropolis will rise — set to catalyse development.
In an interview with The Sunday Mail, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said some of the main infrastructure for the new city has been completed.
“Construction of the new city is already underway. Some of the infrastructure that will form the new city, such as the Parliament building, major roads that come from Harare, like the Boulevard and the Old Mazowe Road, are now complete,” he said.
“The master plans were also done and now we are working on master plans for the five zones and once that is done, we will be calling for local and international investors . . .”
Chief director for spatial planning and development in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works Mr Shingirayi Mushamba said the new city will prioritise commercial and administrative stands.
“We are proceeding with construction of the new city and we have started
servicing of land in preparation of the allocation of stands. The servicing includes offsite infrastructure, water, sewer and other major infrastructure,” he said.
“This phase will also include identification of sites where railway and bus termini will be located. Plans for the expansion of the Charles Prince Airport have also started and we are at the preliminary stages. We hope that in three months the exercise will be complete.
“The land that is being serviced will particularly be for light industries, commercial enterprises and hotels as much of the land will be reserved for business investments, with less focus on residential stands.”
Policymakers believe establishing a new city will help decongest the capital, Harare, whose population has exponentially risen from an estimated 616 000 in 1980 to the current 2,2 million.
Mt Hampden will be modelled as a smart city, with emphasis on information and communication technology.
According to the master plan, the city will be developed in four distinct phases spanning 10 years.
The first phase, which will run for two years, will entail creation of traction and development infrastructure.
The Government has already started working on the first phase.
This phase will be funded through the Treasury and “donations from the private sector and other partners”, according to the blueprint.
Phase two will involve development of baseline infrastructure through funding from the Treasury, public-private partnerships (PPPs), loans and issuance of bonds, debentures or bills.
The next phase will witness the development of commercial, residential and industrial areas through PPPs, foreign direct investment (FDI), syndicated loans, development finance and export credit finance, among other instruments.
The final phase will entail continued development of commercial, residential and industrial areas from year 10 going forward through private equity, PPPs, FDI and syndicated loans.
