Suburban
THE first phase of the US$20 million Highland Park Shopping Mall in Highlands has been completed with 23 retail shops offering a variety of services moving into the new shopping centre.
Suburban Reporter
President Mnangagwa officially opened the new mall, located at the corner of E.D. Mnangagwa Road and Arcturus Road, on Wednesday this week.
TM Pick n Pay is the anchor tenant at the new mall with a new supermarket outlet and a liquor department store. The other 21 shops offer a variety of services and these include Café Nush (a family style restaurant), Chicken Inn (fast food restaurant) H-Town Food and Beverage (ice cream shop), UpState (Pariah State restaurant/bar/café), Puma (fuel station), Veldemeers Exquisite Belgian Chocolate (chocolate shop), Nuway Cleaners (dry cleaners), Yanaya (health food store), The Security Shop (home security shop), Craig’s Studio (hair studio), Corporate Shop (textiles), Licorie Designer Fragrances and Cosmetics (fragrances and cosmetics), Café de Paris (restaurant/café), Digipost (express, print and copy), Solution Centre (Apple authorised service provider and warranty centre), Linen and Extra (Linen and Home), The Candy Hut (candy store), Optinova Eye Care (Optometrist) and Cottage Pies (pastry shop).
Representatives of some of the businesses that will occupy space at Highland Park Mall expressed excitement at the new prospects presented by the retail space.
“We are excited to open up our new Café Nush branch at Highland Park. We are happy to offer better services and that we will provide new jobs for the people,” said Ms Deena Magan.
Pariah State finance director, Mr Bongai Zamchiya said: “We are excited by this modern retail space and we look forward to providing a quality environment and fantastic meals and beverages to Harare’s diners.”
Harare East shadow MP Mavis Gumbo said the creation of jobs was a major boost for the Harare East Constituency and expressed hope for more investments of that nature.
“This is something very good. It will boost the Harare East constituency and I am personally happy about this.
“This development created 400 jobs, which is impressive and we are grateful to the investors. We need more of this type of investment here in Harare East,” she said.
The Highland Park Mall project created employment for over 450 locals during the construction phase and is expected to create an additional 220 permanent jobs once it becomes fully operational.
President Mnangagwa said shopping malls were an opportunity for local manufacturers to increase production and create more jobs.
“The development of shopping malls such as Highland Park provides scope for increased production by our local manufacturing sector. In this regard, I exhort the retail sector to strengthen its linkages with the productive sectors of our economy so that we promote a culture of manufacturing in Zimbabwe in order to ensure our consumers can buy locally produced goods.”
President Mnangagwa said the continued faith that investors were showing in the economy was a clear testimony of the improved ease and cost of doing business being championed by the Second Republic.
“This particular project, which is along one of the development corridors designated by the City of Harare, will contribute to the city’s quest to attain a smart city status.
“It is undoubtedly a key initiative by the private sector, which complements Government efforts in increasing our stock of infrastructure as well as uplifting the standard of living for our populace, through increased employment opportunities,” he said.
To complement the progress being recorded, the President urged City of Harare to improve the infrastructure along other development corridors, while at the same time enhancing access to water, refuse collection and upgrading the road network.
He also expressed hope that more investments would be made towards similar projects across the country in line with Government’s devolution thrust and Vision 2030.
