To rehabilitate its run-down infrastructure and attract more foreign direct investment, a United Nations expert says Zimbabwe requires $18 billion.

Amarakoon Bandara of United Nations Development Programme was speaking at a conference on Special Economic Zones,”If basic internal infrastructure needs cannot be met, even generous fiscal incentives will not be enough to attract and retain investors in the zones.”

“Delivering hard and soft infrastructure inside the zones effectively and integrating them with the domestic market must be a priority.”

“Poor road connectivity and serious port-related delays undermine competitiveness and discourage investors. Infrastructure in Zimbabwe is on average 30 years old and requires about $18 billion for modernization.”

“Most problematic is hard infrastructure, but soft infrastructure, especially in relation to customs and trade facilitation, is also an important determinant of success or failure.”

Bandara concludes, “Financing of SEZs should not be a burden on the rest of the economy.Persistent financial burden on the rest of the economy could undermine development outside Zones and thus the net benefit of SEZs could in fact fall short of the cost for the economy as a whole.”

 

Source: New Zimbabwe (London)