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Business Reporter
GOVERNMENT has injected $150 million equity capital into the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) to aid the entity’s capacity to drive economic development through infrastructure projects.

In a statement yesterday the IDBZ said the funding was injected last week as part of Government measures to realise President Mnangagwa’s vision of Zimbabwe becoming a middle-class economy by 2030.

“With the $150 million capital injected by Government, the bank will now play its catalytic role as an enabler of national growth and transformation, thus assisting Government in meeting policy objectives on infrastructure development and making important progress towards the attainment of ‘Vision 2030’ and the sustainable development goals (SDGs),” it said.

Despite the challenging operating environment, IDBZ’s balance sheet has continued to grow. A recent financial report for the first half of 2018 indicates that at $322,7 million, total assets for IDBZ were 71 percent above the same period last year. This was despite a drop of eight percent in revenue to $4,2 million from $4,6 in the comparable prior year period.

Infrastructure development is critical in enhancing the ease of doing business and improvement of living standards of ordinary Zimbabweans. As such, a strong capital base is set to enhance IDBZ’s efforts in championing infrastructure development through high impact investments in energy, transport, water, sanitation, information and communication technology and housing sectors.

The bank paid tribute to Government for its continued support, saying the fresh capital injection will strengthen its balance sheet and give it capacity to deliver. Experts have stressed that attainment of a sustainable and inclusive economic growth and social upliftment can only be achieved on the back of robust economic and social infrastructure.

It is in this regard that the IDBZ has been mandated to play an important role in providing necessary technical lead in packaging, marketing, resourcing and implementation of infrastructure projects. The bank has since said it will ride on the strategic thrust by President Mnangagwa of having a development oriented bureaucracy that is responsive to the needs and aspirations of all Zimbabweans.

The bank was established through the IDBZ Act (Chapter 24:14) to champion sustainable infrastructure development in Zimbabwe through mobilisation of resources, capacity building, knowledge generation and sharing in support of national efforts for inclusive socio-economic development.