The Government intends to use real estate investment trust (REITs) or special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to finance development of Smart Cities, which the authorities believe may go a long way in uplifting citizens of peri-urban towns and drive progress towards Vision 2030.
The Government has spent billions of dollars on various key public infrastructure projects, including roads, airports, dams, schools and health facilities across the country, which are key enablers to the achievement of targets set under Vision 2030 by which Zimbabwe should be an upper middle income economy.
Zvishavane town council has constructed a block of flats that can accommodate six families in Mandava suburb – as the town embraces the smart city concept.
The smart city concept will result in the destruction of the old and dilapidated cluster houses known as Majarada and replace them with garden flats.
The advent of 5G (Fifth generation) technology is expected to propel smart city technology into the mainstream and accelerate new deployments through the internet of things.
The internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the internet or other communication networks. In a presentation at the Zimbabwe Smart Cities and Rural Communities Infrastructure Forum 2022, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) Economics, Tariffs and Consumer Affairs director, Mrs Hilda Mutseyekwa said the first building block of any smart city was reliable, pervasive wireless connectivity.
Government is introducing a smart traffic management system in all cities across the country with cameras set to be installed on all controlled intersections and strategic points to gather information and monitor traffic flow as part of the smart city project.
The system will create a platform for the real-time electronic monitoring of roads, receipting, reconciliation of fines, docket management, and analysis of traffic information and statistics across the whole country.
Read more: ZW: Government to introduce smart traffic management system
Figtree in Bulilima district, Matabeleland South, has been identified as one of three places in the country to be transformed into a digital and green energy smart city.
Announcing the plan in Bulawayo this week National Housing and Social Amenities minister Daniel Garwe said: “The Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities has endeavoured to move with time and adopt strategies that conform to the dictates of the digitalised world and globalisation.
Read more: ZW: Matabeleland: Bulilima: Govt mulls creation of Smart cities