BEIJING — Zimbabwe is intensifying its drive to secure strategic infrastructure partnerships for its flagship New City development in Mt Hampden, with fresh discussions held in Beijing between the country’s delegation and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
The engagement, led by the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Hon. Prof. Mthuli Ncube Mthuli Ncube, focused on deepening potential technical and financial collaboration for the planned urban development on the outskirts of Harare.
The Mt Hampden New City, which is already at an early implementation stage with enabling works underway, is being positioned as a transformative urban hub incorporating advanced infrastructure, industrial zones, and digital economy enablers, including data centres intended to support artificial intelligence and wider digital services.
During the high-level talks, CSCEC leadership outlined its global track record in delivering large-scale “new city” developments, presenting an integrated model that spans conceptual planning, financing, construction, and full infrastructure rollout. The corporation referenced landmark projects such as the Xiong’an New Area Xiong’an New Area, Egypt’s New Administrative Capital New Administrative Capital, and major urban developments in Indonesia, as examples of its end-to-end delivery capability.
The Zimbabwe delegation was also given a guided tour of CSCEC’s exhibition centre, where they reviewed completed and ongoing projects across China and other international markets. The displays showcased the firm’s engineering capacity, smart city technologies, and integrated infrastructure systems designed for large-scale urban transformation.
CSCEC officials expressed willingness to support Zimbabwe’s New City agenda, signalling readiness to provide technical expertise, advanced construction technologies, and potential financing models to support project execution. However, they underscored that overall strategic planning and policy direction would remain the responsibility of the Government of Zimbabwe, with CSCEC acting as a technical and implementation partner.
The discussions align closely with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), particularly its infrastructure development and modernisation pillar, which prioritises the creation of industrial growth nodes, modern urban settlements, and investment-driven economic transformation.
Prof. Ncube emphasised Zimbabwe’s macroeconomic stability framework during the engagement, positioning it as a key enabler for attracting long-term capital and sustaining large-scale infrastructure initiatives such as the Mt Hampden development.
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