PROPERTY developer, WestProp Holdings Limited (WestProp) has announced plans to launch the construction of a new mall in Harare, Mall of Zimbabwe, in the second quarter of 2025, as it seeks to complete one of its major developments.
The mall is one of several multi-million United States dollar development projects the developer is working on.
Apart from the new mall, WestProp is developing The Hill Luxury Golf Estate (office and residential), Pomona City (residential), Millennium Heights (residential), Pokugara Residential Estate and Millennium Heights Office Park.
Speaking at the ZimReal Property Investment Forum’s (ZimReal) annual conference yesterday in Harare, WestProp chief executive Ken Sharpe said the construction of the mall was in its planning phase.
“We anticipate completing the lease by Q1 [first quarter] next year and groundbreaking will likely take place in Q2,” Sharpe said in a side interview with NewsDay Business.
The mall is set to be one of the largest in the country and will be constructed by Exemplar, a renowned South African company, specialising in mall development.
Sharpe said he was seeking to bring in international brands such as Louis Vuitton, Zara and Gucci to the mall, which would help the firm to stand.
“We want these brands to be coming in and we want to have an offering that is unique. We want to have something that no one has seen before,” he said.
Exemplar chief executive Jason McCormick highlighted the importance of establishing a comprehensive financial framework to ensure a successful investment.
He said the firm would be working on the financial logistics to determine return on investment and construction costs, allowing it to finalise tenant placements and investor commitments.
“For any good investment, you need to know what your retainers can be and ourselves, that is what we will be doing in the next six-eight months,” McCormick said.
“That’s what we will be doing, building that financial set-up so that we will be aware of what it will cost us and probably 80% of the tenants will know exactly where they will be.”