The new town, which is set to be a game changer for the
country, will be established for about 30 000 residents.
The integrated iron and steel plant being constructed in
Mvuma by the Chinese firm, Disco, which is envisaged to be one of the biggest
in Africa, represents a huge stepping stone in Zimbabwe’s modernisation and
industrialisation agenda.
Plans are also underway for the construction of a
university and a foundries centre at Manhize — a development that will result
in the employment creation of over 20 000 people.
Riding on the fact that iron ore, the main component in
steel production, has reserves lasting over 200 years, the town will not turn
into a ghost town.
The first phase of production at the giant steelworks is
scheduled to start at the end of April.
The opening moves Zimbabwe into its position of being a
steel manufacturing giant and expanding the mining industry as all raw
materials are mined locally.
The iron ore is very close to Manhize thus creating
thousands of new jobs at the expanding steelworks and in downstream heavy
industry with Zimbabwean industrialists tapping local steel.
Also, under the Second Republic, old mines which had
shutdown, are being reopened, giving impetus to the attainment of an empowered
upper middle-income economy by 2030.
President Mnangagwa presided over a ground-breaking
ceremony at Disco two years ago paving
way for construction works that started in 2022. The plant is 95 percent
complete and ready for commissioning.
A subsidiary of Chinese iron and steel giant Tsingshan
Holdings, the Disco plant started taking shape in June 2022, when preliminary
works started on the site.
Disco is projected to produce 600 000 tonnes of products in
the first phase, rising to 1,2 million tonnes in the second phase. It will then
rise to 3,2 million tonnes in the third phase and ultimately 5 million tonnes
per year in the final phase, supplying a full range of steel products to the
Zimbabwean and international industry.
It will earn the country millions of dollars in exports as
it becomes a major regional supplier and takes advantage of being located
inside the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
Products that the company will eventually produce include
pipes, billets, bolts and nuts, smaller slags, rolled tubes, fences, shafts,
wires and bars among others.
Among other infrastructural development projects to come as
a result of the Manhize steelworks, is the construction of a 50-kilometre
railway line from Mvuma to the steel plant.
Disco has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with the Government to undertake refurbishment and construction of a 1000-km
long railway system to provide a dedicated, reliable, uninterrupted, and
efficient railway line to facilitate the movement of the company’s products for
local and export-imports routes.
In an interview, Disco public relations manager Mr Joseph
Shoko said plans for Manhize town are taking shape.
“Exciting times are on the horizon for the people of this
area. The new town will be called Manhize, and it will have the modern style or
standards of a smart city characterised by high-rising buildings, schools, a
university, shops, and banks,” he said.
“We are not planning on having a ghost town because the
mineral resource here will last for 200 years, which is the lifespan of this
steel plant. We will build a very big dam for tourism activities and even if
the resource runs out, the university will still be there as well as the dam
for recreational activities to attract tourists.”
Mr Shoko said the steel plant will also benefit downstream
industries thereby contributing to Vision 2030.
“We are going to witness the agglomeration of industries
here and there will be downstream industries that will breathe life to this
area. Government has approved this town and what we are waiting for is a
ground-breaking ceremony on a date to be announced,” he said.
Chief Chirumanzu commended the Second Republic for
spearheading socio-economic development in his area.
“I am excited to note the positive development that has
been ushered in by the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa. Who would
have guessed that we can have a new town in this area? This is good for us as
our children are now employed and we expect more to be employed,” he said.
Herald
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