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By Ashwert Kugara in Bindura

COMOIL (Pvt) Ltd, one on of the fastest growing oil and retail companies in the country, is investing close to  US$400 000 in the construction of a mega shopping mall and a fuel service station in Bindura.

The company’s projects manager, Mr Lewis Kadzinga, said the complex was expected to open its doors later this year.

Comprising an oil and gas service station, large chain store, banking hall and a recreational facility, the  complex is located less than a mile along the Bindura-Harare highway.

Mr Kadzinga was addressing delegates at a stakeholders consultation meeting held recently at a Bindura hotel. The project boasts a cocktail of services among them a two-point sales port for fuel for both large and small vehicles.

Once completed, he said, the fuel station and a mini mart would be open 24 hours. “The shopping complex will definitely dominate others in this town and the province at large as we aim to offer a peaceful and tranquil environment for convenient shopping. The local community will immensely benefit from the project through employment creation and the residents of this town are certainly going to be a priority,” he said.

Mr Kadzinga said that because of its strategic location, the centre was set to lure travellers and other shoppers from the surrounding areas. A visit to the construction area revealed that men were at work and the building was already at slab level.

On the same note, Bindura Residents’ Association representative Mr Olleys Mazorodze said the project was a welcome development but urged the company to do more on corporate social responsibility. “In Bindura we have a high number of student dropouts due to underperformance of mining giants in the area (Ashanti and Trojan). So let it be your onus to start by embracing a scholarship programme set to benefit these children whose parents were laid off from these mines,” he said. Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and his brother Danny own Comoil. The consultative forum was attended by stakeholders from various Government departments and local authorities, among others.