The construction of Zimbabwe’s Mt Hampden smart city is currently underway. This is despite the country having the highest rates of unemployment and inflation. Moreover, the country is also facing a debilitating currency crisis, and falling foreign direct investment.
The Zimbabwean government, together with investors, believes in the project’s potential. Emmerson Mnangagwa, president of Zimbabwe, claims that the development of the smart city on 15,500 acres will make it the smartest city in the region. He believes that Cybercity is going to be a crucial feature that will bring added value to the new city.
Authorities envision the Mount Hampden area, 26 kilometers northwest of Harare, as the new capital city, or the New Harare, and the futuristic Cybercity will serve as its anchor.
Implementation of the Zimbabwe smart city
Mulk International, an industrial conglomerate based in the United Arab Emirates, is constructing Zimbabwe Smart City. The city is estimated to cost $500 million.
Mulk International chairman, Shaji ul Mulk, said that they have been trying to raise the living standards in that particular development to that of Dubai. High-end villas, or Zim Hills, as they like to call them, will surround water bodies. Also, he claimed that they would have a tower with a shopping complex.
According to government officials, other government offices will be constructed on Mount Hampden to consolidate administration in the planned “New Harare.” Authorities and investors believe that the futuristic cyber city will give the proposed new capital a modern commercial feel.
Features of the Zimbabwe smart city
The Zimbabwe smart city covers 2.5 million square meters of land. It will have 250 townhouses, more than 80 luxurious villas, several apartment blocks, and high-tech office facilities. In addition, it will feature a 15-storey commercial tower, and landscaped gardens, all within a gated community.
According to Batanai Matsika, head of research at Morgan & Co., the investment by the UAE investor in the Smart City Project is extremely critical from the point of view of economic development.
The new city, once completed, would relieve shoppers and businesses from the crowded CBD of Harare.
Reported earlier
Jan 2020
Zimbabwe to inject US $23m into the construction of Mt Hampden Smart City
The government of Zimbabwe has announced plans to invest US $23m into the development of a new city around Mt Hampden. The acting director of spatial planning and development in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, Mr. Honesty Magaya made the revelations and said preliminary work that includes drawing the masterplan has already begun.
According to Mr. Magaya, the ministries of National Housing and Social Amenities, and Local Government and Public Works are the lead agents through which the preliminary work will be undertaken.
According to the 2020 Zimbabwe Infrastructure Investment Programme, US $13m has been reserved for developing a master plan, while US $10m will be used for feasibility studies and other primary works.
“After the development of the master plan, the project will move to the next phase which involves layout planning and after all these stages, we will then zero in on the issue of selling commercial stands. The intention is that there will be a separate local authority which will be managing the city,” said Mr. Magaya.
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Concept plan of the new city
The concept plan of the development will see the city sit on over 18 000 hectares of land between Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central provinces. The plan was drawn up with the help of experts from the University of Zimbabwe.
The new city will accommodate Government ministries, Parliament, residential areas, shopping malls, hotels, and industries. The new Parliament Building currently under construction in Mt Hampden is the nucleus around which the city will be developed.
The city will be modeled as a smart city, with an emphasis on information and communications technology to increase operational efficiency and improve the quality of Government services and citizen welfare. It is also projected to decongest the capital Harare, whose population has exponentially risen from an estimated 616 000 in 1980 to the current 2.2 million.
The administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa is pushing for the quick opening of Zimbabwe’s Mt Hampden Smart City, amid reports that the project is drawing a lot of investors from nations like Dubai.
Juin 2022
Government Pushes to Have Zimbabwe’s Mt Hampden Smart City Open by Aug 2022
During the late President Robert Mugabe’s administration, the idea to relocate Harare’s major business center was proposed in 2012, leading to the construction of the massive new parliament building in the same region.
According to sources, the new city might open as early as August of this year, as the government pushes to construct more infrastructure surrounding the new parliament building. However, the project, which spans three provinces – Harare, Mashonaland West, and Mashonaland Central – might harm thousands of Zimbabweans participating in diverse enterprises, including agriculture, mining, and other economic operations.
Plans for Zimbabwe’s Mt Hampden Smart City
According to the administration, the city will be designed as a smart city, with an emphasis on information and communications technology to boost operational efficiency and improve the quality of government services and public welfare. It is also expected to decongest Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, whose population has grown dramatically from an estimated 616 000 in 1980 to around 2,2 million today.
The government has already begun preparing for Mnangagwa to debut the project with a massive billboard promoting the new initiative. However, Honesty Magaya, Director of Spatial Planning and Development at the Local Government and Public Works Ministry, stated that much work had to be done before the project could begin. A draft master plan is being presented at all levels of government, with all presentations continuing until early July. According to Magaya, the limits may be modified, but the presentations on the master plan address that problem.
He also stated that the master plan would be made public once all presentations with participation from all government ministries were completed. According to Magaya, the government is also consulting communities that the project may impact through a consultant. The master plan is being drafted by the University of Zimbabwe in collaboration with an inter-ministerial group.
The new city is projected to have new infrastructure that would readily attract additional investors and other projects such as the construction of banking halls, residential areas, government buildings, universities, and technical and commercial centers.
