By Staff Reporter

Government in partnership with Hwange Rural District Council (HRDC) and Victoria Falls Municipality (VFM), is set to roll out a massive housing scheme in Victoria Falls.

The scheme will be part of a new city known as Masuwe City, covering 1400 hectares in total. Of this land, 417.2 hectares will be reserved for housing purposes while the other will be reserved for other amenities and infrastructure.

Speaking after the tour of the Masuwe City proposed site and the Victoria Falls high density suburb, National Housing and Social Amenities Minister, Daniel Garwe said a joint committee comprising of officials from HRDC and VFM had been set up to spearhead the project.

 “Providing modern houses, with modern facilities is high on government’s agenda. It is government’s priority to provide decent houses for the citizens with sewer, water, electricity and internet.

“We are now at the preliminary stage of developing the new city and our target is to complete the first phase of the city within the next five years. We will not rush things, we will follow all the best practices in modern day urban planning,” said the Minister.

Due to scarcity and finite nature of land, Garwe said, considerations are in progress to utilize the vertical space.

“We will consider the fact that Victoria Falls is a resort town and we will do all we can to preserve this. Maybe two or three storey housing structure will be set up,” he said.

VFM Mayor, Somvelo Dhlamini applauded government for partnering local authorities in infrastructure development.

“The local authority is prioritising service delivery, despite the economic challenges compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are alive to government’s pursuit of urban regeneration programme, a program that is going to improve the image of our town as a prime destination. The task is to do away with dilapidated infrastructure and sprucing up the image of the town in both residential and commercial properties,” he said.