Zimbabwe seeks cooperation with China in housing development

Zimbabwe is seeking cooperation with China in housing development to reduce the huge urban housing backlog which stands at over one million people, The Herald reported on Tuesday.

Addressing a visiting five-member Chinese delegation from Hubei Province, which is in Zimbabwe on a mission to promote cooperation between the two countries, Minister of Local Government, Public works and Urban Development Ignatius Chombo said over 1 million people were currently on the housing waiting list in the country's urban centers.

The Zimbabwean government would like the Chinese to enter into joint ventures with Zimbabwean companies in the construction of roads, and installation of water and sewer reticulation systems, he said.

"Our biggest challenge is the national housing delivery. Because of improved health and education standards in urban centers, our people are moving into the towns and cities to benefit from these facilities," Chombo said.

He said the government had put in place measures to address housing problems and was in the process of allocating residential stands, plots and finished houses.

He asked the delegation to convey the message to businesspeople back in China on the opportunities available in Zimbabwe.

The minister said lessons from China had shown that housing densification and the construction of high rise living quarters saved land.

Ding Fengying, who led the delegation, said Zimbabwe and China had a lot in common in the local government sphere. She said China had chosen to give priority to rural development as a means of curbing rural-to-urban migration.

Source: Xinhua