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Kiyapili Sibanda, Business Reporter
THE Real Estate Institute of Zimbabwe (REIZ) says lack of foreign direct investment (FDI) has hit their sector hard as they lag behind in property development.

Zimbabwe remains an FDI leper, with inflows declining from $399.2 million in 2015, to $254.7 million in 2016, reflecting low foreign investment.

REIZ president, Mr Siza Masuku said lack of FDI was impacting negatively on the sector’s growth.

“FDI brings in the much needed capital to enable construction of buildings and other relevant infrastructure,” he said.

Mr Masuku said the sector needs to construct new buildings as well as renovate old ones in order to meet demand for both office and residential accommodation.

He said the sector had the potential to create employment once it has the required capital.

“We need builders,carpenters, architects and engineers to work on these projects,” said Mr Masuku.

Mr Masuku said at times the sector has been forced to suspend implementation of projects while in some cases projects have taken too long to complete due to lack of funding.

“If there is no affordable funding everything does not move.

“There are many projects that were put on hold because of lack of funding. For example, the much talked about Mall of Zimbabwe and Egodini Mall,” he said.

—@Kiyaz_Cool