3 Bulawayo firms qualify for SEZs
THREE Bulawayo companies have qualified to operate under the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) model while 15 others have applied for consideration with their documents at different stages of the review process.
A number of other companies across the country have also been granted the SEZs status through the Zimbabwe Special Economic Zones Authority (Zimseza).
Bulawayo is one of the areas that Government designated for the implementation of the SEZs initiative with a view to restore the city’s former glory as the country’s industrial hub.
In an interview after a meeting between the Bulawayo technical working group on SEZs, officials from China’s International Co-operation Centre of National Development and Reform Commission (ICC-NDRC) on Wednesday, Zimseza chief executive officer, Mr Edwin Kondo, said Bulawayo has got Do n n i n g t o n , Kelvin, Belmont and Westondale corridors, which are already operational as existing companies that have applied had been granted the
SEZs status.
“The Umvumila is virgin land and we are currently developing it together with our Chinese colleagues and we have got plans to bring in developers into that area and the plans are at an advanced stage.
“In Bulawayo, we talk of Shepco, Chingases and Colman. These are existing companies looking into exporting into the region,” said Mr Kondo.
He said at national level there was a mixture of existing companies seeking expansion over the next five years as well as new companies. “We have licensed quite a few private sector companies into the Special Economic Zones for example, Karo Resources, which is into mining, value addition and beneficiation.
“We normally leave the private sector to get on with it once we have licensed them, we put in place monitoring and evaluation framework and we let them get on with it,” said Mr Kondo.
Other designated zones include Harare, Victoria Falls, Mutare and Beitbridge.
“We have got a mixture of public zones and private sector zones that are into agro- processing, industrial parks and so on, those are also at advanced stages. We have some that have already put in solar farms, we will be unveiling those in the next three months,” he said.
“Public zones take time because feasibility studies and master planning need to be done before going into putting up infrastructure, and again we have our Chinese friends, we are working together towards that.”
Mr Kondo said infrastructure for the SEZs initiative takes between two and three years to put up before the building of industrial parks and occupation by anchor tenants.
In a separate interview, ICC-NDRC policy advisor Dr Feiyi Gao said together with Chinese counterparts they were in the country under the bilateral initiatives-initiated by Beijing after the China-Africa Forum last year.
“Zimbabwe and China have a long-standing relationship, that’s why we are working together in a lot of things. ICC-NDRC is working together with the Zimbabwe Government in terms of twinning and other things. This is why Zimbabwe has come up with SEZs concept,” he said.
“And all of that, will be beneficial news to international investors, not only Chinese investors but also public and private investors from other countries around the world. When we go back, we can also work together closely to find action plans to create a win-win situation.”
During the meeting Bulawayo technical working group member, Mr Kholisani Moyo, who is also the city’s business development officer, gave an outline of the vast investment opportunities in Bulawayo.
These include opportunities in sectors such as energy, agro-processing, transport, tourism, water and waste water investment and housing. After the meeting, the delegation was also taken on a tour of the Umvumila industrial park and other SEZs corridors in the city. — @okazunga