West Property chief executive Ken Sharpe said the company has launched an ambitious program of transforming Zimbabwe into a mini Dubai with state of the art houses and malls.
Speaking during a CEO Round Table in Victoria Falls, the maverick businessman said plans are under way of committing 1 billion bricks in building houses in Zimbabwe.
“I represent arguably one of the biggest property development companies in Zimbabwe sitting on well over 500 ha of prime land for mixed use lifestyle estates incorporating residential, sporting amenities and commercial developments. We are building tens of thousands of value-added residential properties for the people under the mantra “Bringing Dubai to Zimbabwe” with one billion bricks,” he said.
“We are geared towards channelling our resources into building Zimbabwean homes because we believe that the home is the soul of the nation. We believe in giving title because shelter is one of the surest inheritances for our families in as much as title guarantees security of tenure.”
Sharpe said the company believe in creating a harmonious environment where clients can live, work, shop and play in a neighbourhood that is both a gated community offering security and comfort as well as the convenience of being able to walk from your house to your work place, to the shops and have the recreational amenities surrounding the nearby landscape.
“We are the leading developer in Zimbabwe of premium lifestyle estates which are integrated and mixed-use communities,” he said.
“Our developments can best be described as smart cities, digital cities, wired cities, intelligent cities among a host of other adjectives used to describe the modernity and luxury lifestyle we are introducing.
“We are building neighbourhoods where people can live, work, play and shop in. We are bringing completeness, self- sustaining neighbourhoods and safe communities for women and children. Neighbourhoods with indoor sports facilities, workstations, shopping malls, internet connectivity and green energy in the form of solar energy and above all a lifetime experience to live in style,” he added.
The property guru also revealed massive projects that the company has undertaken. Some of the projects are Millennium Park, Pomona City and Warren Hills Residential.
“Other completed developments include Homelands 263 (12 upmarket townhouses in Mount Pleasant), Gunhill Rise 37 upmarket residential stands and a 7000m2 GLA informal retail centre called Mbudzi People’s Market along Simon Mazorodze Road,” he said.
“We have a vision to commit one billion bricks by 2050 which was developed when I was at Harvard Business School in the United States of America. So far 41 million bricks are being put in the ground. The vision resonates with the 2050 population boom as highlighted by UN Habitat which estimates that half the world population would be residing in urban centres in search of better opportunities,” he added.