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w.daily-mail.co.zm” class=”f”>Zambia Daily Mail by Online Editor on 6/17/13
$12m Makeni housing units on cards
By TRYNESS MBALE
CAMLAND Estates Limited, a Lusaka-based company, plans to construct about 1,200 housing units in Makeni at a cost of US$12 million.
The project is expected to create about 3,000 to 6,000 direct and indirect jobs for the locals.
This is according to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) report obtained by Daily Mail from Zambia Environment Management Agency (ZEMA) yesterday.
The report says the housing unit will consist of two bedroom and three bedroom houses.
“Camland Estate Limited intends to develop 1,200 housing units on 200 hectares areas of land located at farm number 288 a, 1.5 kilometres off Makeni road in Makeni, Lusaka Province.
The company is a joint venture between Zambian and Chinese nationals whose objective is to provide affordable medium-cost houses in Lusaka,where the Chinese nationals have invested US$12 million to the company while the Zambians have provided 200 hectares of land in Makeni for the project,” the report reads.
The EIS says the project will start with 20 housing units to showcase the type of houses that the project will have to allow clients to get hand-on feel of what their finished house will look like.
It says the objective of the project is to meet an urgent and growing demand for housing and plots in Lusaka as well as fulfil an increasing demand for a secure and environmentally sustainable urban model within Lusaka.
The EIS says the housing unit’s aim is to give Lusaka a vibrant, well planned residential area and it is expected to help combat the ever-growing unplanned settlements which will in the long run help to catalyse the upgrade of Lusaka and avoid future environment catastrophes.
It says the project will be implemented in five main phases over a period of five years with the first year having 150 housing units, second year 200 housing units, third year 250 housing units, fourth year 300 housing units and fifth year respectively.
The EIS says the project will roll out the housing units at a rate of 150 to 300 housing units in response to an established demand from identified customers.
The project will have both negative and positive impacts on the environment.
The negative impacts are air quality due to increased dust levels, occupational health and safety in relation to the traffic and machinery and work environment among others.
On the positive front, it will create employment opportunities for the locals, improved national Gross Domestic Product and local economy.
Other positive impacts are poor multiplier effects in related service and goods sectors for both construction and operational phases.
