Story by Stanley James, Business Editor
CONSTRUCTION of the US$80 million African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) Africa Trade Centre in Zimbabwe is on track, with the project expected to be complete by January 2025.
Moving construction cranes indicate signs of construction activity as the Second Republic forges ahead with attracting investment in infrastructure development.
Among the projects is the US$80 million Afreximbank Africa Trade Centre being constructed in Harare after its groundbreaking ceremony in September last year.
A visit to the site by the ZBC News crew this Monday revealed progress towards meeting set timelines.
The contractors are also excited about the granting of land for the project to the pan African multilateral financier by the Government of Zimbabwe and the availability of technical as well as financial support.
“Despite the rains that had made it difficult for us to forge ahead, we are progressing well and what is interesting is the overwhelming support that is taking us this far, to the extent that the entire work is well within our targets,” said Afreximbank Trade Centre Project Manager, Engineer Shepherd Mawoyo.
The Trade Centre will house a regional office, a world-class hotel, a trade information centre, a major conference centre, a shopping mall and a technology incubation lab.
It is also being taken seriously in line with the government’s thrust of modernising the economy.
“As you can see for yourself, this is a world-class facility that will also position Zimbabwe as an attractive portfolio for investors which further enhances the developmental agenda,” said Engineer Mawoyo.
Construction of the project has also created several downstream socio-economic results on job creation, facilitating technical expertise, boosting the construction sector value chains and also expected to revive Harare as an important centre for financial transactions.
Afreximbank is a multilateral finance institution based in Cairo, created in 1993 as a trade finance bank for Africa.
