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Business Reporter
There is a new light industrial site planned for the periphery of northern Harare to service northern, eastern and western suburbs. Kennan Properties, who is marketing the stands, said the development will be a huge advantage for people seeking employment closer to home and also for easier access of the residents of the nearby suburbs.

According to Mr Patrick Kennan of Kennan Properties, “None of the land earmarked for this industry is suitable as a residential area because of its proximity to a busy main road, the Pomona quarry and the city dump.

“For these reasons, the re-zoning of this area to a light industrial use is particularly appropriate, making good use of land that would otherwise lie unused.”

Mr Kennan said some industrial properties already exist on Harare Drive and some very significant buildings have already been erected.

In addition to this he said a 1,73 hectare site on the north/west corner of Harare Drive and Alpes Road has been re-zoned for light industrial purposes and sold by Kennan Properties for further development.

On the north/east corner a 10 hectare site has been sub divided into 29 light industrial stands. Mr Kennan said the majority of the industrial stands have already been sold by Kennan Properties and internal roads and water reticulation networks are in the process of being installed.

On land nearby but a little further up of Alps Road, a further block of land is being sub-divided into 51 stands, again for light industrial purposes.

The sales campaign for the stands is also being handled by Kennan Properties and will be launched later this year.

“Demand for the stands has been high,” said Mr Kennan. “This has been clearly driven by the convenient location.

The majority of Harare’s industrial sites are to the South of the city and so access to these sites from northern, eastern and western suburbs is difficult especially nowadays with more and more cars on our roads.”

Property analysts contend that demand for industrial property will increase in the near future; given the positive sentiment on the economy.

It is expected that growing investor confidence in the Zimbabwean economy, following the political change will drive investment into the country.

Government has also complemented the positive vibe with a series of reforms or planned reforms to make easy for companies to do business.