Homelink, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), last Friday unveiled a US$30m housing project in Zvimba, which is expected to have 972 stands, a shopping centre and a school.
The project, known as Homelink Estates, is located at Srathmre and is one of the entity’s biggest projects sitting on 243 hectares of land.
Tawanda Matembo, the Homelink MD, told guests at the ground-breaking ceremony that the project would be done in phases over two years.
“This ground-breaking ceremony marks the beginning of the US$30 million housing development project on a piece of land spanning over 243 hectares in size,” Matembo said.
“This is a mixed use development with 972 stands broken down into 966 residential, three stands for schools, two stands for creches and one stand for a shopping centre.
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“The project will be implemented in phases over a period of two years.
“The first phase which will commence forthwith will be focused on serving 237 medium density stands with an average stand size of 1,250 square metres.”
National Housing and Social Amenities minister Soda Zhemu said the project demonstrated that the country was committed to clearing the two million housing backlog.
“It is imperative to highlight that housing development is a shared responsibility, which requires a multi-stakeholder approach,” Zhemu said.
“As a collective responsibility, all stakeholders with financial capacity are invited to contribute towards reducing the national housing backlog which is staggering at around two million housing units.”
The government says it wants to deliver one million housing units by the end of 2025.
“The National Development Strategy 1 has set the revised housing delivery target of one million housing units to be achieved by 2025,” Zhemu said.
“The target is not solely a government target, but a collective input from all housing delivery entities such as Homelink Pvt Ltd and today we are witnessing the commencement of yet another significant contribution to the one million housing units.”
Homelink has developed many housing projects in the country to date including Parklands medium -to-low-density stands in Bulawayo in 2012, and other projects in the country.
Zhemu promised that government would ensure that housing projects meant to reduce the backlog were implemented seamlessly,
“This, I have just taken note of and I promise that we will do the best that we can as government to ensure that all projects that can be developed are moving with speed and we are not found wanting as government," he said.
“Partnerships are key to unlocking economic development in Zimbabwe.
“By leveraging resources and expertise from both the public and private sectors, we can accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure and services that benefit our citizens.
“Homelink is a prime example of a successful partnership between Homelink and Zimbabwe Rural District Council where 972 service stands will be delivered.”
Mutapa Investment Fund chief executive officer John Magudya said Homelink bought the land in 2017, but implementation of the project was delayed by challenges that were facing the RBZ subsidiary at the time.
