Story by Tino Zirongwe
THE Hunyani Agro-Industrial Special Economic Zone (HAISEZ) in Darwendale is being developed into a US$600 million export-oriented hub as Zimbabwe accelerates agricultural modernisation and rural industrialisation.
Situated 60 kilometres west of Harare, the 2,600-hectare project will integrate crop production, livestock farming and value-added agro-processing in line with the objectives of the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
Minister of Lands and Rural Development, Honourable Vangelis Haritatos, said the Government is prioritising agricultural transformation through investment-ready industrial hubs.
“With this strategically located land, reliable water from Lake Manyame, existing irrigation infrastructure and proximity to Harare’s logistics and financial systems, the Hunyani Economic Zone represents the type of brownfield, investment-ready rural industrial hub the ministry seeks to replicate across the provinces.”
Honourable Haritatos said the Special Economic Zone model also provides foreign investors with opportunities to invest while complying with Zimbabwe’s land ownership laws.
“In a Special Economic Zone, it is important to have a primary source of production itself, but also secondary sources of production through factories for value addition and beneficiation. We have a lot of international investors who approach us to buy land, but under our Constitution we are not allowed to sell land to foreigners. This kind of hub provides an opportunity for foreign investors to put their money into productive investments under Special Economic Zones,” he said.
Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) Investment Promotion Officer, Mrs Silibazi Sochizwina, said the project will be implemented in phases.
“This 2,600-hectare development will focus on crop production, which will then be processed and exported. There will also be supporting infrastructure required for a Special Economic Zone and, as the project grows, new investors will come on board.
“Our role as an agency is to identify investors who fit this model. It is a 72-month development programme, although implementation may accelerate depending on investor interest. Already, we have received interest from development finance institutions, local banks and farmers looking to expand their operations,” she said.
Government says replicating Special Economic Zones across the country’s provinces will support industrialisation and contribute to the attainment of an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
