The government intends to construct a multi-purpose conference facility in Victoria Falls as part of its plans to make the resort town its conference capital. This was disclosed by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa last week.
The planned conference centre is part of the government’s plans to transform Victoria Falls into a modern tourism-based city as part of the development of the Victoria Falls-Hwange-Binga Special Economic Zone. According to The Herald, the conference facility would have other amenities such as five-star hotels, medical centre, a university, a Zimbabwe Defence Forces camp and sporting facilities.
“The Victoria Falls Development Programme will entail the upgrading of the Municipality to City status, and improved land utilisation and modernisation, which should unlock land for new investment,” said Mutsvangwa during a post-Cabinet brief last week.
The Herald indicated that government was planning to build Masue and Batoka satellite towns as part of the Victoria Falls Development Plan whose corridor comprises Masue Stateland, Batoka City, Mlibizi, Binga Centre, Sijalila, Hwange Hinterland and Gwayi Shangani resort.
“Regarding the Masue Resort Institutional Framework and Detailed Designs, a Statutory Instrument to operationalise the establishment of a Masue Joint Management Committee has since been drafted. Planning for the mixed-use and commercial zones is underway,” Mutsvangwa said.
Government is also planning a town based on the Batoka Power Project which is being pushed Zimbabwe and her northern neighbour, Zambia.
“A proposed new town anchored on power generation activities will be created at Batoka once the legal processes have been completed. Furthermore, layout plan extensions for Binga, a highly promising tourist node, are being prepared,” said Mutsvangwa.
Other entities which have plans based on Binga’s tourism potential include the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ), which announced its intention to build a hotel and conference centre in the resort area last year.
The Victoria Falls has over the years played host to most local and international meetings and conferences which include the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly which Zimbabwe co-hosted with Zambia in August 2013. These were hosted by hotels in the resort town such as Elephant Hills and the Victoria Falls Hotel among others.