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WestProp Holdings, Zimbabwe's largest listed property developer, has unveiled plans for Chivhu Eco City, a 5,000-hectare mixed-use development located approximately 150 kilometres south of Harare along the A4 highway to Masvingo, with a target of 20,000 residential properties and a financing model that introduces 30-year mortgages to Zimbabwe's property market for the first time.
The development marks a significant geographic shift for WestProp, which has until now concentrated its flagship projects in Harare. Chief Executive Ken Sharpe, who founded WestProp in 2007 and built it into the country's dominant lifestyle developer through projects including Pomona City, Millennium City and The Hills Luxury Golf Estate, said the Chivhu expansion was driven by demand and a broader national strategy to develop secondary urban centres.
"We are happy to be expanding. We have previously concentrated our developments in Harare but due to demand and calls for outward growth, we have decided to make Chivhu our immediate target. We are going to be the corridor for growth in Chivhu and nearby centres," Sharpe said.
The 30-year mortgage offering is the longest repayment tenure currently available anywhere in Zimbabwe's property sector. WestProp introduced 10-year mortgages when it launched Pomona City. Sharpe framed the extension as a deliberate affordability play for the Chivhu market. "When we launched Pomona City, we introduced 10-year mortgages. With Chivhu, we are extending that to 30 years, making homeownership more accessible and allowing buyers to invest more into building," he said.
The first phase of the project, the Founders' Phase, comprises 2,400 stands and is already on sale, with Acting Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Collin Zvenhamo confirming strong buyer interest. "This is a limited release designed to reward those who stand with us first," he said.
Location and strategic logic
Chivhu sits at a natural convergence of major road junctions linking Harare, Masvingo, Mutare, Gweru and Bulawayo, and sits along a primary transit corridor to South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique. The town currently has just over 21,000 developed residential properties, a figure that understates actual demand given its emerging role as a commuter town.
Rising living costs in Harare have pushed some workers to commute daily from Chivhu, with peak-hour travel times now comparable to commutes from Chitungwiza or Norton. That dynamic has turned the town into a more affordable residential alternative within practical reach of the capital.
Economic activity in and around Chivhu has also accelerated in recent years. The nearby Dinson-owned Manhize iron and steel plant, one of Zimbabwe's most significant industrial investments in a generation, is drawing workers, suppliers and service providers to the area. Alluvial gold mining activity in surrounding districts has added another layer of local demand. WestProp plans to develop its eco city site approximately 8 kilometres outside the main town along the road toward Dinson, on land opposite the well-known Denise Kitchen. The site previously housed Tangenhamo, a tourist destination that attracted international visitors at its peak, and Sharpe has indicated plans to revive elements of that tourism legacy.
What Chivhu Eco City will contain
The project is structured around WestProp's established "live, work, shop and play" model. Beyond residential stands, plans include a Big Five game farm, a nature reserve and a higher education facility, with a university cited as a possibility. The company also intends to preserve significant green space within the development, consistent with its approach at other projects: The Hills achieved over 80% green coverage and Pomona City maintains approximately 50%.
"At The Hills, we achieved over 80% green space, while Pomona City maintains around 50%. In Chivhu, we want to balance density with comfort by preserving abundant open areas," Sharpe said.
The project is currently in the design and planning phase, with town planners, architects and designers engaged. Final designs are expected before the end of the current quarter, with groundbreaking scheduled before July 2026.
WestProp and Ken Sharpe
WestProp Holdings listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange in 2023 as the first property development company to do so on that exchange. Sharpe, born in Harare in 1973 and a Harvard Business School alumnus, began his business career in 1991 with West Group, a food distribution company operating across five Southern African countries, before pivoting to real estate in 2006. He was awarded the Forbes Africa Best of Africa Most Innovative CEO Award in 2021, the first Zimbabwean to receive the recognition.
His assessment of the opportunity Chivhu represents was direct. "We see immense opportunities in Chivhu, not just for residents and investors, but for the wider economy. Industry will be excited about what we're bringing," he said.
