The local construction industry is pursuing efforts to deepen regional integration to facilitate the flow of investment, trade, capital and ideas, among other things.
Zimbabwe Building Contractors Association (ZBCA) president Tinashe Manzungu said his organisation was exploring how regional cooperation could bolster infrastructure development.
He was speaking at a ZBCA-organised regional summit in Victoria Falls.
The summit was running under the theme Leveraging investment in infrastructure as a catalyst for economic growth.
“We must also strengthen regional integration and cooperation,” Manzungu.
“By harmonising our policies and regulations, we can attract more investment and promote sustainable economic growth.
“Together, we can create a seamless environment for the execution of infrastructure projects, facilitating an easier pathway for local contractors to engage in both government and private initiatives.
“This has led ZBCA to collaborate with sister organisations like Master Builders South Africa and Zambia National Association, among other Sadc countries that we are finalising with.”
Manzungu said in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, ZBCA was committed to fostering partnerships that empower local contractors, drive economic growth and enhance the socio-economic fabric of communities.
“As we align ourselves with our country’s ambition of becoming an empowered and upper middle-income state by 2030, we recognise that our role is pivotal,” he said.
“The construction industry not only generates 25-30% of national employment but is also a key enabler in achieving NDS1 targets.”
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga said the construction industry plays a critical role in the realisation of the Sadc construction, infrastructure and economic development aspirations.
“As Zimbabwe, we are alive that strong bonds in construction are built by the mantra, ‘Brick upon brick’, and such synergies should define and strengthen the region’s unison particularly within the construction industry,” he said.
Chiwenga said there was no substitute to the unification of the region’s construction industry.
“Unification is a valuable panacea of unlocking our collective potential and it reinforces the empowerment of our Sadc community,” he said.
“The construction industry stands as one of the key underpinning enablers for the full realisation of the Sadc industrialization agenda, which will transform the region into a vibrant and sustainable industrial hub.”
ZBCA was established in 1985 as a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering emergent building contractors across various sectors.
It seeks to promote, empower and capacitate our growing membership while advocating for equity, fairness and justice within the construction sector.