Story by Tafara Chikumira
Zimbabwe and China’s bilateral relations are growing from strength to strength with a Chinese company setting up a multi-million-dollar hotel in Redcliff.
The hotel, being constructed at US$10 million, is set to change the face of Redcliff and promote tourism in the town.
The facility will have 46 rooms, a casino, a shopping mall and three conference rooms.
The investor heaped praise on the visionary leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose government has come up with policies that attract investment.
“I have been in Zimbabwe from last year October. I stay in Kwekwe. We are building this hotel with my father. We are giving jobs to local people, and this project is going to look much better when completed. I want to thank the President for this opportunity for us to invest,” said Zhong Jin International Hotel managing director, Mr Yolo Chen.
The community is already enjoying spin-off benefits from the project through job creation.
“Since this project came into being, many of us from Redcliff got some jobs and it has changed many lives. This project has helped us a lot, job creation and live transformation, we thank President Mnangagwa for creating opportunities for us,” said a community member.
“Since ZISCO Steel closed operations back then, hope for us and our children was beginning to fade here in Redcliff. However, this project has brought a lot of excitement to some of us. It’s a new beginning and we look forward to more jobs once the facility becomes operational,” noted another.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Owen Ncube who toured the facility, weighed in saying the Second Republic is impressed by the level of investments being witnessed in the country.
“The Second Republic under the stewardship of His Excellency, President Cde E.D Mnangagwa, values timeous responses to challenges encountered by communities. Local authorities have been mandated to facilitate ease of doing business through effective service delivery to the satisfaction of residents and creating an enabling environment for potential investors. Today we are witnessing such milestones by the investors which is a sign of confidence in the country’s business operating environment,” he explained.
The US$10 million dollar investment is part of the growing list of milestone achievements in the Midlands Province under the Second Republic.
The government’s industrialisation and re-industrialisation policies have seen the province attaining the highest gross domestic product growth of 11 per cent according to the latest figures released by ZIMSTAT.
