The Victoria Falls City Council (VFCC) has moved an inch closer to becoming a smart city after completing construction of a low-cost engineered landfill and commencing the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash) project to improve sanitation services and solid waste management.
The local authority last week launched a US$4 million water reservoir project in Mkhosana, as the first phase of the grand US$18 million Wash project that is set to permanently end water problems in the tourism city.
The Permanent Secretary for Energy and Power Development, Dr Gloria Magombo has said there is a need to develop smart energy solutions as the country adopts and develops smart cities and rural communities.
A smart city is a municipality, where digital technology and green-energy innovations are central to the provision of better services for residents and businesses.
In Zimbabwe, the Smart City concept is expected to generate the much-needed investments expected to boost economic growth towards the targeted upper middle-income status by 2030.
Read more: ZW: Smart energy solutions critical for smart cities: Dr Magombo
Construction of the proposed Melfort Smart City in Mashonaland East province is set to gather pace after Government secured investors for the project.
It will be strategically located, along the Harare-Mutare Highway.
A smart city is a municipality, where digital technology and green-energy innovations are central to the provision of better services for residents and businesses. In an interview with The Sunday Mail, National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe said they have made “tremendous progress on smart city development”. The identity of the new investors, he said, will be announced in due course to avoid jeopardising ongoing negotiations.
Zimbabweans have been urged to embrace the concept of smart cities to help fight climate change.
The call was made by the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZNGSA) during a Financing Smart Cities and Rural Connect conference in Bulawayo yesterday.
A smart city is a place where traditional networks and services are made more efficient using digital solutions for the benefit of its inhabitants and business.
The CYBER CITY project in Mt Hampden, Harare, being spearheaded by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration will enrich top leaders and be the cornerstone in the government’s surveillance of its citizens, evidence gathered by NewsDay Weekender has shown.
The technology for the project is from China. Implementation of the model, its organisational structure and management of the new city has already been announced by Cabinet.