Development of the Mount Hampden area near the new Parliament complex is being done carefully, legally and properly with the objective being to create a decent city that will, in time, be housing many Government buildings as well as private, residential and commercial property that fits in with the basic plan.
The town planning at present is largely a work in progress, as few can see how the area will develop over the next decade, let alone over longer periods.
Yet the present planning insists on very high standards of commercial and residential property, with industrial development to take place elsewhere, so that the parts will fit together as the area develops.
Buildings last for a very long time, as we can now see as the stock of buildings in Harare over 100 years old is growing dramatically, so planning largely has to ensure that what is built will still look good in the 22nd century and beyond and will still fit into the sort of new city that is desired.
President Mnangagwa has already made it crystal clear that all development in this area must follow the strictest standards for services, that is the roads, sewer system, water supply, optic fibre cabling, and electricity as well as the proper provision of suitable public facilities such as parks, schools, hospitals and the like. This is very important as a lot of the development will be done by private enterprise, and so needs to maintain the desired standards and fit in.
During the 1980s, technical experts identified the site for a future high-grade sewer treatment plant that would one day be required for the northern and north-western developments in the Harare area, everything from Pomona to Mount Hampden.
This large swathe is in the Gwebi catchment and so the future treatment works needed to sited near the river, a little to the north of where it makes that sudden turn to the north.
At that time the existing development in this northern swathe was almost all low density residential, so septic tanks were fine, but as development moves towards higher densities and there is a lot more commercial development, obviously trunk sewers are going to be needed and because waste must flow downhill, the treatment works need to be in the same catchment.
There will also be need to work out how Mount Hampden will receive a proper piped water supply. In early stages, boreholes feeding reservoirs will work, but in time it will need to be connected to proper piped mains from a treatment works.
The Kunzvi scheme, designed to feed northern and eastern Harare, could be extended to the west to include Mount Hampden without difficulty. The road network has already been started with the major trunk access roads to Parliament.
The access is coming from the east rather than the south as was the original thinking, and since we are dealing with a greenfield site, it should be possible to make sure all services, including the storm water drainage, are installed from the start, so roads do not have to be dug up in a year or two to put in the optic fibre cables for example.
The present major development is a private investment by a major investor from the United Arab Emirates, Mulk International owned by Dubai-based billionaire Mr Shaji Ul Mulk, who has committed up to US$500 million for the first phases.
Mr Mulk has brought in Zimbabwean contractors to do the work, to both Zimbabwean and Dubai standards, so employment is being created and so are markets for local materials of the required high quality.
Already the contractor for the civil works is on site, and these will be completed before the building starts, so Mr Mulk is following best practice as well as the law.
The investment follows the normal rules, although it is the first such investment in real estate under the Zimbabwe Global Investments Special Economic Zone programme. But basically this is the same as for a major new mine or any other approved investment, with all the support and security such investments attract.
The initial phases of the Mulk investment are residential, 80 villas and 170 other residences, plus a major shopping mall, which is now needed and becomes viable with both the Parliamentary complex and the new residential development, plus the market from the surrounding areas, especially towards the east along the major access highway.
It is likely that some of the Zimbabwean real estate investment companies will be interested in extending their portfolios to the Mount Hampden area, and will no doubt be welcomed.
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The top flight of these investors do follow the proper development rules and make sure that they do the proper land servicing.
We think that some sort of formal central planning and administrative authority is needed for the area.
This must be under the Government at present, although in time the future residents will want representation, but some sort of office will be needed to process development applications and the like, and then make sure that the services are functioning and all fees are paid.
As further investment proposals are made and accepted, we think that the full local master plan is required. This can be changed and altered as development progresses but at least must set aside the residential, commercial and State zones, plus mark out the land reserved for open space, starting with the wetlands, and land that needs to be reserved for education, health and recreation.
Now that the original concept is being turned into civil engineering and structures, the new city will be taking shape and this shape needs to be guided by the very best town planning we can provide, so that there are no short cuts and substandard work.
