Tokwe-Mukosi: New town in the drawing room
An all-new town in the mould of Victoria Falls and Kariba resort towns is part of the Tokwe-Mukosi Master Plan which the government intends to implement in the vast acres of land around the Tokwe-Mukosi dam in Chivi district, in the south of Zimbabwe.
This was heard during a media tour of the district organised by the Zimbabwe Union Of Journalists (ZUJ) and had the attendance of residents, local government officials and members of the press.
The recently completed Master Plan envisages a fully contained town on the shores of the sprawling lake, complete with universities, colleges, residential units and shopping malls among other amenities.
The rest of the land, about 40 000ha, will be put under irrigation, enabling an all-year round cropping cycle and turning the traditionally dry district into a greenbelt.
“In agriculture, we are going to irrigate about 40 000 ha where we are going to get water from the dam. Some of the water is already being used to water sugarcane plantation and some will also be invested into citrus farming “, Minister of State Masvingo Province Ezra Chadzamira explained to the media.
In addition to crops, the area will also offer space for fish farming, fish processing plants and crocodile farming.
Tokwe-Mukosi dam is located on the Tokwe River, downstream of its confluence with the Mukosi River. Standing at an imposing 90 meters high, the concrete-face wall makes the structure the highest reservoir in the country. With a holding capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters and an artificial basin stretching over 40 kilometers, Tokwe-Mukosi has only Lake Kariba to rival with in the country.
The dam, a joint venture project between the government of Zimbabwe and Salini Impregilo, an Italian civil works firm, was commissioned in 2017 after years of construction.
