Mulk starts work on $500m Zim Cyber City in Harare

Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk Chairman of Mulk International

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday broke ground to launch the US$500 million (Dh1.83 billion) Zim Cyber City – a state-of-the-art mixed-use hi-tech park at the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital city Harare – that is being developed by UAE-based diversified industrial conglomerate Mulk International.

Sprawled across 2.5 million square feet, Zim Cyber City is currently under construction in Mount Hampden, New Harare. Mount Hampden’s master plan includes the newly completed parliament building and all the ministry buildings as well as high-end residential and commercial buildings. Many compare this to the Downtown and Sheikh Zayed Road developments in Dubai, UAE.

“Zim Cyber City stands to become Zimbabwe’s landmark project, offering a world-class high-end lifestyle to all the residents. Our government fully supports this exciting development, and I congratulate the Chairman, Shaji Ul Mulk, and his company Mulk International, for bringing Zim Cyber City to Zimbabwe,” Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe, said.

Many UAE companies are now investing their hard-earned wealth in different countries, instead of the UAE economy – which has matured and saturated. Due to this, the return on investment and rental returns have reduced drastically over the last few years, thus forcing UAE’s home-grown companies to look elsewhere for better returns. As a result, the announcement of new projects in the UAE has drastically declined. Countries like Zimbabwe offers a better return on investment.

Zim Cyber City was proposed to the President by Mulk International during his visit to the UAE at the Dubai World Expo 2020. The project is under the patronage of the Zimbabwe President, who has granted Mulk International an exclusive licence to establish a blockchain and digital assets special economic zone.

Responding to a question on what this project means to the Government of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa told a press conference in Harare: “When I met Mr Shaji Ul Mulk, during Dubai Expo 2020 in March this year, he proposed to me to establish a Smart City. I told him, if you can build something with the same quality as in Dubai, then, yes – by all means come and develop it.

“Zim Cyber City reflects the fact that Zimbabwe is now open for foreign investment. This will complement the development of a new Government Administration in a new urban development in Mount Hampden, New Harare. It is a Smart City that will attract knowledge workers and investment in new technologies.

“Over the last few years, we have liberalized our investment laws to attract foreign investment and I am glad that Mr Shaji Ul Mulk and his colleagues are investing in our economy. This is the beginning of a new journey for Zimbabwe and we are happy that the first investment project is coming from the UAE.”

This is the first such large-scale investment by a UAE-based business house into Zimbabwean economy that will strengthen the bilateral relationship between the UAE and Zimbabwe. Mulk Holdings, the parent company of Mulk International, owns Alubond USA, the world’s largest aluminium composite panel (ACP) and has investment in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Zim Cyber City is the first real estate investment in Zimbabwe channelled through the Zimbabwe Global Investments (ZGI) Special Economic Zone (SEZ) programme, approved by the Zimbabwe President and awarded through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

Thanking the President and the Government of Zimbabwe, Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk, Chairman of Mulk International, says, “President H.E. Emmerson Mnangagwa, has whole-heartedly supported Mulk International’s first Zimbabwean endeavour. Zim Cyber City is the first of many investments that our group, Mulk International, has committed to delivering through the special economic status channel of Zimbabwe Global Investments.

“Zim Cyber City will be a unique, iconic development, offering multi-fold economic benefits to commercial enterprises combined with lavish, uptown living.”

Responding to a question, Shaji Ul Mulk said, “Zim Cyber City is our first such venture in Zimbabwe – and definitely not the last project. Today, we are commencing the project that will create thousands of construction jobs in the next few months.”

He praised the fast-paced licensing by Government of Zimbabwe, adding, “We approached the government in March to develop the Zim Cyber City. In three months’ time, the government allocated land, cleared all the permissions for us to break the ground. Things happen here in days, instead of months and we are pleased to launch the project at the right time and the right place.”

The master-plan of the project includes 250 townhouses, more than 80 luxury villas, a number of apartment blocks, hi-tech office facilities, high-end retail arcade, a 15-storeyed commercial tower, landscaped gardens – all within a high-security gated community with health club, community centre and other facilities.

Zim Cyber City will facilitate special window clearance of blockchain and digital assets licenses and bank accounts, cutting-edge office spaces and high-end residential living for all individuals and entities operating and living in the community. It will include 24/7 advanced, built-in surveillance technology that is directly connected to local law enforcement authorities for maximum security of the residents.

Adnan Ul Mulk, Vice-Chairman of Mulk International, says, “Mulk International has worked diligently to understand the market and gain greater insight into Zimbabwe’s culture and its bountiful opportunities. The depth of resources and advanced digital capabilities across industries gives Zim Cyber City concrete, long-term growth prospects.

“We are keen to witness Zim Cyber City’s role in the successful integration of blockchain and crypto technology and premium, residential living. I am thankful to The President, H.E Emmerson Mnangagwa, for his staunch support in making Zim Cyber City a project of national importance.”

Corporate license holders within the Zim Cyber City will enjoy a bouquet of incentives including free repatriation of capital and profits without any limit caps; ease of fund transfers in and out of the country through local or foreign bank accounts without any caps; exemption from paying all taxes for a period of 5 years; freehold resale of the real estate and permission to employ foreign staff at a flat rate of 15 percent tax.

Mount Hampden, in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe is about 11 miles North West from the capital, Harare. Along the Old Mazowe Road, this area of 11.43 square kilometres has been allocated towards building a new city that represents a new era for Zimbabwe, as well as a special economic zone exclusively for investors.

A special economic zone for free trade and export, offering potential investors the ability to enter local and regional markets and access to infrastructure, facilities and ancillary services.

Mulk International is a multinational conglomerate with diversified business interests spanning primarily four sectors – Building Materials, Plastics, Healthcare and Cricket Assets. For more than two decades, Mulk International has been owning and managing a group of 18 companies under the leadership of Chairman Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk.

The company has achieved global recognition with its flagship brand Alubond emerging as the world’s largest exterior facade panel, and its T10 Cricket league growing 2000% in the last 5 years to become the second-largest cricket league in the world with a viewership of over 500 million.