The ManicaPost
Liberty Dube
Business Correspondent
IN a move that is set to give the tourism industry a major boost, the Grand Homes Property Development Company is constructing a US$3 million accommodation and tourism facility in Nyanga.
Upon its completion by the end of this year, the Mountain Lake Resort and Spa is expected to host over 5 000 tourists every year.
The project has 16 self-catering solar-powered chalets which has a combined capacity to accommodate 96 guests.
Each chalet will accommodate a maximum of six guests.
The facility will also have a conference centre with state-of-the-art equipment.
Speaking during a tour of the facility last week, Minister for Presidential Affairs, Monitoring and Implementation of Government Programmes, Dr Jorum Gumbo, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in his Ministry, Mrs Fananai Madambi, said Government welcomes such investments as they are critical in the tourism industry.
He also spoke about promoting domestic tourism.
“As tourism players, you should also focus on the promotion of domestic tourism in order to reverse the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sector. It is increasingly becoming clear that we need to invest in domestic tourism in order to strengthen resilience should a similar pandemic occur in the future.
“There is need to develop innovative strategies to position the country as a tourist destination of choice by taking advantage of the many tourist attractions dotted around the country. This explains why the National Development Strategy (NDS1) identified tourism as the third largest sector after agriculture and mining,” said Dr Gumbo.
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Nokhuthula Matsikenyere applauded the company for making the investment.
“This is a great initiative. The company has also diversified into farming. Employment will be created for the local community and we will see an increase in our provincial and national Gross Domestic Product,” said Minister Matsikenyere.
Grand Homes’ sales and marketing director, Mr Don Yambira said the projects commenced in 2019.
“With the tourism facility taking shape, we have also ventured into peach farming. We have planted 6 000 peach trees of multiple varieties and we project that by 2024, we will harvest over 600 tonnes annually.
“We have also planted 1 000 macadamia plants and by 2025 we will be harvesting 30 tonnes annually,” said Mr Yambira.
He added: “On fish farming, we have constructed two dams and we estimate that at the peak of that project, we will yield over five tonnes of trout fish annually.”
