Afreximbank to build multimillion complex
CAIRO-Head-quartered Afreximbank announced plans to build a multimillion business complex comprising a porsche hotel in Harare’s Newlands area, Afreximbank president Dr Bennedict Oramah has said.
The bank recently received title for 1,2 hectares of prime commercial land for the development of its regional offices and other trade facilities. Dr Oramah said the Harare office, on a 1,2 hectare plot, would become the bank’s Southern African hub.
“The formalisation of the land and the building comes at a time we have set out to develop and implement a concept for the transformation of Afreximbank’s existing and future buildings into iconic business complexes, to be branded Afreximbank Africa Trade Centres. The bank will make available a hotel of international standards, mini business park for Africa, large conference facility, trade information portal, corporate rental office for trade promotion bodies, upmarket furnished offices, shops, restaurants and public facilities,” Dr Oramah said.
Dr Oramah said Zimbabwe becomes the first country to benefit from the new concept. When completed, the project is expected to transform Zimbabwe into an inter-African trade hub where trade and investment deals can be struck.
“The project promises to expand the scope of business and transform Zimbabwe. It will also accelerate Zimbabwe into an iconic business district. The collaborators took the liberty of visiting the site are very pleased with location and the size of the land.”
The 1,2 ha of land was made available to Afreximbank free of charge. Dr Oramah could, however, not divulge how much the project would cost but promised to build the facilities by next year. While cost estimates are still being done, Harare City Council has already given the bank compliance certificates and other documentation to start the project. Zimbabwe and Afreximbank’s relationship dates back as far as twenty years.
“It’s a relationship that grew into some kind of a solid marriage, a marriage so strong. It is no doubt that Zimbabwe is at the forefront of leading the decentralisation of the bank. Zimbabwe is the country to have the country’s first regional office in 1996,” Dr Oramah said.
“It’s not surprising that the bank’s intervention in Zimbabwe has been deep and far reaching, during in the past decade, cumulative investments exceeded $3 billion and touch all critical areas including trade, export agriculture, manufacturing financial institution and so on.”
Investments to financial institutions amounted to $2 billion between 2008 and 2016.
“Today, we believe the process of turning our remarkable relationship into a physical legacy. Afreximbank received the instrument of title of 12 000 square meters of a piece of land allocated to it for the construction of a permanent regional office for Afreximbank.–herald
