Umguza, (New Ziana)-Financial services institution Homelink has unveiled a US$5.3 million premium housing project in Umguza, Matebeleland North province, transforming 61.5 hectares of land into 191 fully-serviced, ready-to-build stands in a record 10 months.
Named Homelink Park, the project has 191 stands that include low-density and institutional stands that are ready for construction of upmarket homes and businesses that promise to change the skyline landscape of the peri-urban area.
The stands, ranging from 2 000 to 4 600 square meters, have been provided with infrastructure including tarred roads, water reticulation, and drainage systems.
The development offers flexible payment options and competitive pricing, with stands priced between US$15 and US$20.70 per square metre.
In an interview on the sidelines of the project launch, Dr John Mangudya chief executive officer of the Mutapa Investment Fund, shareholder of Homelink, said the servicing of the stands was a practical response to the national housing backlog, which stands at approximately two million housing units nationally.
“This project offers 191 fully serviced low density stands and was completed this year with tarred roads, water reticulation and drainage infrastructure now in place,” he said.
Mangudya said the stands are ready to build with title deeds available, giving families both security of tenure and immediate opportunities to start building their homes.
He added that the Mutapa Investment Fund was established to support economic growth, safeguard the nation’s wealth and build a prosperous future for Zimbabwe.
“Mutapa Investment Fund’s operations are divided into six strategic clusters namely mining resources, energy and trading, ICT, transport and logistics, agriculture and industrials, financial services and real estate. Homelink sits within the financial services cluster, but through projects such as the Homelink Park it also makes a strong contribution to the real estate cluster. This is how Mutapa Investment Fund leverages synergies across clusters by ensuring that investments in one sector deliver tangible impact in others,” he said.
Dr Mangudya also said provision of serviced stands aligns directly with the National Strategic Strategy (NDS1), which has housing and infrastructure development as one of its key pillars while supporting the realisation of Vision 2030, a blueprint for the attainment of an empowered upper-middle-income economy.
“What we see today is the power of investment put to good use, investment that transforms land into housing opportunities,” he said.
He said with more land available the developments of this nature can be replicated in other parts of the country ensuring that other communities are not left behind.
“With more land available we can replicate developments of this scale in other parts of the country, ensuring that no community, no province and no citizen is left behind,” he said.
Homelink managing director Dr Tawanda Matembo said servicing works for the project commenced on May 2 last year and was completed on February 28 this year, with a total investment of over US$5.3 million.
“We are proud that we completed this project within 10 months. Following the completion of the project, we received the Certificate of Compliance from Umguza Rural District Council on May 12 this year, which paved the way for our customers to obtain title deeds and begin construction immediately,” he said, adding the infrastructure in place includes tarred roads, water reticulation and drainage systems.
In Masvingo Province, Homelink launched the Bushmead project located near Lake Mutirikwi while another project known as Homelink Heights in Crowborough in Harare that consists of 6 blocks of 78 modern 2 bedroom apartments was also launched.
A total of 329 houses and 288 stands were commissioned this year in Brockdale, Bindura in Mashonaland Central province as well as 115 stands in Norton among other projects across the country.
New Ziana
