STORY: Zimbabwe's capital to build up in height as housing demand rises
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 29, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 31, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:50
LOCATION: Harare
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP (English): TAFARA MUGWARA, Xinhua reporter
2. various of Harare
3. SOUNDBITE (English): KEN SHARPE, Chief Executive Officer of West Properties Company
4. various of Harare

STORYLINE:

STANDUP (English): TAFARA MUGWARA, Xinhua reporter
"The population of Harare, which is Zimbabwe's capital and largest city, is growing and demand for urban land for housing is growing as well. Given that land is a finite resource and Harare cannot continue sprawling outwards, authorities say the sustainable way of meeting housing demand is to grow vertically, and at this site, a private company is building over a thousand apartments to meet Harare's demand for urban housing."

Ken Sharpe, CEO of West Properties, which is constructing the project of a thousand apartments, said that compact living is becoming more popular today, contrary to earlier times when there was a preference for larger land areas.

SOUNDBITE (English): KEN SHARPE, Chief Executive Officer of West Properties Company
"For a long time in the past, we have not densified the city, so the time has now come, and we have to build up. The colonial mentality, I think, is changing in Zimbabwe. We have a young population - almost 70 percent of Zimbabwe is youth under 30 - and these young people want to see modern features, modern designs, and that then helps the city to have less pressure on land because there is high demand of housing units. We know that there is between one and a half million backlog of homes in Zimbabwe, and the land availability is becoming less."

Harare has a population of over 2.4 million, about 16 percent of Zimbabwe's population.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Harare.
(XHTV)