Hwange Local Board Courts for investors.

HWANGE Local Board (HLB) is courting potential investors to explore a plethora of investment
opportunities existing in its area.

HLB Public Relations Officer Dumisani Nsingo said the local authority has a mixed bag of untapped
investment opportunities across various sectors of the economy.

“Hwange is probably one of the places in the country, which investors haven’t fully explored for
investment opportunities yet it has quite a wide range of business prospects. Over the past few
years, we have been marketing Hwange as a tourists’ destination, with mining activities within it so as to further entice potential investors,” he said.

Buoyed by a growing appetite for investments in coal mining and power generation over the past
few years, Hwange is one of the fastest growing economies in the country.

“In the tourism sector, Council has land set aside for the construction of a hotel as well as upmarket lodges. Hwange’s proximity to Victoria Falls and the Hwange National Park makes it ideal for those on expedition to put up in our town before proceeding on their tours,” he said.

He added: “Existence of mining and power generation activities means Hwange is constantly hosting
executives and experts from these sectors and these require luxurious accommodation. Thus, those
that set-up hospitality facilities are definitely guaranteed of clients.”

Hwange urban only has one hotel, a 2-Star facility and a few lodges.

Another opportunity exists in the setting-up of an upmarket conference centre, which would be a
first in Matabeleland North, since the province does not have one. Other investment opportunities
exist in the manufacturing sector, through value addition of locally available resources such as coke works products, fruits (baobab, nyii and mangoes) and fish.

“As part of HLB’s efforts of promoting the manufacturing industry, the local authority has land set aside specifically for food processing factories. Council also has land for setting-up of factories for value addition of coal as part of its efforts of creating downstream industries and employment opportunities,” Nsingo said.

HLB also has vast land for the setting-up of energy hungry industries like steel, fertiliser and cement manufacturing. The huge investment in coal-mining and power generation has led to massive
employment creation. The growth in employment and wages gives consumers some spending power
making retailing one of the most lucrative businesses to venture into.

“HLB offers commercial stands for construction of retail shops including large chain-stores in all its suburbs. We also have prime land on offer at our proposed Civic Centre site where there’s our
proposed new Central Business District,” Nsingo said.

Hwange, as one of the sunniest areas in the country, is suitable for solar energy installations.
Encouraging alternative power production resources is imperative for the country to reduce its

dependence on the national grid, avoid load shedding and power cuts, and provide the possibility to supply communities living and working in remote off-grid areas with reliable power.

“HLB has already identified land for setting-up a solar farm and awaits interested investors to take it up,” said Nsingo.

The existence of heavy mining equipment and other ancillary components, tourism players’ fleet of
vehicles as well as a heavy presence of cars from tourism players, including cars belonging to the
public, present investors with an opportunity to set-up automotive oils and spares shops. Council
has land reserved for the setting up of free-standing pavilions designed primarily for football, cricket, hockey and rugby.

In addition to that HLB has a soccer stadium, which is currently in a bad state and needs
refurbishment to meet minimum requirements and standards to host local Premiership matches.

“Council is courting investors for the establishment of these sporting and recreational facilities
through Public-Private Partnership or Build Operate and Transfer arrangements,” Nsingo said