Maravi

(HERALD) Firm gets over 1 000ha land

Firm gets over 1 000ha land
By Tendai Mugabe

GOVERNMENT has provided land in excess of 1 000 hectares to China Sonangol for the development of satellite towns as it steps up efforts to ease accommodation problems in Harare.

Zimbabwe and a Chinese joint venture company, China Sonangol, signed a Memorandum of Understanding that would see the latter funding the development of satellite towns. The Chinese company has already unveiled a US$8 billion package to fund various developmental programmes in Zimbabwe.

In an interview yesterday, Local Government, Urban and Rural Development Minister Ignatious Chombo said Government had availed land for the development of satellite towns and they were only waiting for the Chinese company to come on board.

"As Government, we have made significant land available for the development of satellite towns in Harare which is in excess of 1 000 hectares. The land covers areas in Mount Hampden and some parts of Mazowe. We are now ready as Government and we are now only waiting for our Chinese counterparts to come on board," he said.

Minister Chombo said Government was also waiting for the Chinese experts to come and inspect the land before construction gets underway.

If fully implemented, Minister Chombo said the Chinese deal would go a long way in addressing accommodation challenges in Harare.

He said many people were failing to build decent houses in towns due to the high costs of building materials.

"It is our hope that this deal will afford many people decent accommodation in Harare. Due to high cost of building material, many people are failing construct houses in towns," said Minister Chombo.

He said Government made the land available immediately after noting with concern the challenges facing urban residents to access decent accommodation.

Minister Chombo said Government would continue to work to improve the lives of ordinary people.

"It is one of our priorities as Government to ensure that people have decent accommodation. We will continue to work to enhance the living standards of our people," he said.

Harare and other cities are facing accommodation challenges resulting in a major backlog on the number of people on the housing waiting list.

The US$8 billion Chinese investment is one of the biggest investments the country has received since the formation of the inclusive Government in February.

It also confirms the success of the Look East Policy adopted by Zimbabwe fours years ago.

Labels: CHINA, DEVELOPMENT

posted by MrK @ 12:45 AM