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Lovemore Zigara Midlands Business Correspondent
ZVISHAVANE Town Council has embarked on an expansion of its Central Business District (CBD) as it gears for municipality status by 2018.
The local authority is engaged in public private partnerships with construction companies for the servicing of stands in the CBD and in residential areas.

Town council secretary, Tinoda Mukutu, said council is servicing 27 stands in the CBD, 180 light industrial stands and 464 residential stands in a move aimed at expanding the mining town.

He said:
“We have partnered various companies through the public private partnerships for the expansion of the CBD as well as servicing of industrial and residential stands. This is part of the town’s drive to attain town status by the year 2018. We have partnered JM Construction in the servicing of 27 stands in the CBD in our efforts to expand the town centre.

“FORIT Construction has been contracted to service 180 light industrial stands, 300 medium stands in Eastlea medium density surbub as well as 164 stands in Matonjeni along the Zvishavane-Gweru highway for the construction of 164 low density houses.”

Mukutu said the projects are at roads formation and water and sewer pipes laying stages.
Apart from the municipality initiative, government has also chipped in through the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing where 8,000 stands are being serviced in Mabula. The housing project is part of the government programme of affording decent accommodation to all as enunciated in the country’s economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).

Government intends to build 125,000 housing units by 2018 under the new economic blueprint.
Turning to other developmental projects, Mukutu said the town has also embarked on a streetlights repair drive.

He said so far, the CBD and roads leading out of the town had been covered.
Mukutu said council had already repaired lights in the residential areas.