By Dickson Jere
Nestled in the farmlands of Kamilonga area of Chibombo District in Central Province, there is a newly developed Ecological Smart City.
The first phase is completed. It is a marvel to see. A beautiful hotel, office block, residences and park – forms part of this new city, which has been built by the state-owed enterprises of Jiangxi Province of China.
The project will gobble 600 million dollars when fully complete in 2035 and so far about 150 million dollars has gone into the first phase.
Charles Yi is my longtime friend. We worked closely together in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before he withered away.
Suddenly, he resurrected with a telephone call telling me he was managing a new project – the Zambia Jiangxi Economic Cooperation Zone – situate in Chibombo. I should visit him and see the place, he said.
Reluctantly, I journeyed.
I thought it was pretty much the old story of a Chinese farm in Chibombo. Lo and behold, I was shocked with what I saw. A modern city in the making…very serene and cute!
“We have just done phase one of the project,” Charles said as he led me to his spacious office on first floor of the 10,000 square metres block.
The new city sits on 2,380 hectares of land of which 300 was given by government while the rest purchased from the private owners around the area. It is a serene environment and extremely clean. Over 6 kilometers of roads have been tarred and a dedicated power line installed from Chisamba even though a Solar Plant is in the offing.
“It will have completed facilities for leisure, entertainment, medical services, vocational training and living,” he said.
A distance away from the hotel, one can see the various buildings and industrial parks that have been developed. The place is now legally designated as a multi facility economic zone (MFEZ) by the government.
“The startup zone is designed to bring competitive industries in Jiangxi Province of China to Zambia such as tobacco planting and processing, agricultural products and food processing, medical equipment manufacturing, clothes and shoes,” he said.
So far, the machinery for manufacturing car batteries is being installed in readiness for the launch next year while steel and glass factories are being completed.
Warehousing is also done.
And some Zambian companies have also taken up some space.
“It is estimated that 6,000 jobs will be created by 2025 and 20,000 by 2035,” read the project concept.
After my brief tour, and impressed with what I saw, I just had one request to Charles.
“I need a piece of land here for my house…” I said.
“Add a golf course to the concept…” I added.
The park was officially opened on 13th October 2023 by President Hakainde Hichilema even though the project concept had started earlier.
I will be back in Chibombo!
Our manufacturing industry is getting back, slowly.
