As the country adopts the Smart City concept, three pilot projects to kick-start the process have been identified as those places are transformed into digital and green energy smart cities.
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 cities to generate investment, boost economic growth
A massive street lighting programme has been rolled out countrywide with a pilot project being carried out in Harare where the installation of more than 1 200 new lights is currently underway.
The project, which will be cascaded to all the country’s cities, towns and growth points, is a product of President Mnangagwa’s engagement and re-engagement policy as well as his “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” mantra.
Read more: ZW: Government rolls out massive street lighting programme nationwide
The Victoria Falls City Council (VFCC) has moved an inch closer to becoming a smart city with installation of solar-powered street lights on Livingstone Way.
The project started last month in partnership with Satewave Technologies and close to 100 street lights have been installed out of 575 targeted in the first phase.
Victoria Falls — the country’s youngest city — has put zero-emission and climate-neutral activities at the top of its five-year strategic plan that council is still working on and will be aligned to the National Development Strategy (NDS1).
The transformation of Figtree settlement into a smart city has started taking shape with technical teams working with Bulilima Rural District Council as Government moves to fully implement the smart cities concept in line with the recently launched climate policy.
Government adopted the smart city concept which is a global phenomenon as part of the country's modernisation thrust.
Read more: ZW: Matabeleland South: Figtree positions for place among smart cities
A smart city deep in a rural area looks unthinkable to some, yet alone if that place is in Chivi district, far away from other well established areas.
Those who think this is difficult to implement base their arguments on the fact that rural areas are already under developed with less services and amenities.
But what they forget is that the coming in of a smart city in such an area means that services and the necessary amenities will follow this splendid development and within a short time the story of the area will change.
Read more: ZW: Masvingo: Chivi District: Smart city deep in a rural area, why not?