$13m Vic Falls shopping mall underway in Zimbabwe

Artist impression of Sawanga Shopping Mall in Victoria Falls which is now 65% complete.

The $13 million Sawanga Shopping Mall in Victoria Falls is well under-way and promises to offer a brighter shopping experience for local residents and tourist visiting Zimbabwe's beauty.

Victoria Falls is a town in western Zimbabwe and a gateway to the massive waterfall of the same name. Here, the Zambezi River plummets over a cliff and into the Boiling Pot before flowing through a series of gorges.

Zimre, Zimbabwe's property investment company has so far spent $9,2 million on its shopping mall in Victoria Falls which is now 65% complete.

Providing above 5 000 square metres of lettable space, the $13 million Sawanga Shopping Mall consists of 23 shops, banks, concept houses, food courts, restaurants, coffee shops, a service station and curio shops.

Zimre property manager, Stephen Kapfunde, said that the mall would be operational in 2019.

“The shopping mall is approximately at 65% completion and we expect the contractor to finish off most of the brickwork and to have the balance of the roof sheets on the mall in two weeks’ time from now,” Kapfunde said.

“About $9.2 million has been spent on the project to date and it is scheduled for practical completion by end of December 2018,” he said.

The mall is one of Zimre’s major projects while the company has also been converting its Nicoz House Bulawayo from offices to student accommodation.

Kapfunde said the company has several projects lined up, including an office park development in Borrowdale; a townhouse development in Westgate, Harare; Selbourne Park in Bulawayo; an industrial park in Bluff Hill, Harare, and a residential development in Victoria Falls.

“The land for all these developments has already been acquired and the projects are at different stages of implementation. Some are at design stage, some are awaiting approval,”

The Victoria falls is 1 708 meters wide, making it the largest curtain of water in the world. It drops between 90m and 107m into the Zambezi Gorge and an average of 550,000 cubic metres of water plummet over the edge every minute.

Remarkably preserved in its natural state, Victoria falls inspires visitors as much today as it did David Livingstone in the 1860's. The falls and the surrounding area have been declared National Parks and a World Heritage Site, thus preserving the area from excessive commercialization. 

Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World