THE 2020 Infrastructure Summit and Expo has kicked off in the resort town of Victoria Falls with the Zimbabwean government committing itself to create a vibrant infrastructure base which can spur economic growth while reaffirming its desire to emerge as the regional transport hub.
The Summit which has attracted participants from Zambia and South Africa will see delegates exploring strategies to unlock investments in the regional infrastructure sector as part of efforts to ensure economic growth and shared prosperity.
Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister, Joel Biggie Matiza highlighted Zimbabwe’s resolve to leverage on its strategic location within the SADC region to emerge as a regional transport hub.
“Given our strategic location, Zimbabwe must be viewed as a key player in the development of the region. We are focusing on revamping our key infrastructure in order to unlock the potential of the local economy.”
In the aviation sector, the cabinet minister highlighted that work is underway to upgrade the airports while at the same time the national airline is being transformed. According to government ongoing projects include recapitalization of National Railways of Zimbabwe and upgrading of the major roads.
The African Development Bank AfDB estimates that Zimbabwe requires an estimated US$34 billion dollars to upgrade its infrastructure in the next 10 years. On its part, the Zimbabwe government which is targeting to attain a US$65 billion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030 is exploring different options to finance infrastructure development including Public-Private Partnerships.
The 2020 Infrastructure Summit and Expo which runs from the 4th to the 7th of March is running under the theme, “Infrastructure Key To Economic Growth and Shared Prosperity.”
