Mr Nyirenda said the shopping mall, once operationalized will open various business ventures at both local and international level, thereby promoting growth on the country’s economy.
Mr Nyirenda said that his organisation will further continue to identify the most attractive investments for the new facility in order to ensure that the institution becomes more responsive to the demand of the people.
Mr. Nyirenda was speaking when he addressed journalists at a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday.
He added that the infrastructure development will also see the expansion of Alick Nkhata road to a dual carriage way, which is aimed at improving the flow of traffic in the area.
Mr. Nyirenda noted that upgrading of the road will be done where the mall is situated adding that the infrastructure will bring a face lift to the city.
Meanwhile RADISSON Blu Hotel Group Manager for Business Development Simone Kuhn says she is impressed with the progress of works at the Longacres mall.
Ms. Kuhn noted that Radisson Hotel group values the partnership with Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF), adding that the hotel management plans on developing similar structures in different parts of the country.
She revealed that the facility will have a shopping centre, business offices, and a significant parking space, among other structures. Ms. Kuhn added that she was happy to see that the majority of construction works on the new Radisson Blu Hotel at the named mall, is being done by the locals.
She said the construction works have created over 500 jobs and is expected to create more than 1000 jobs once the hotel is complete.
Hahaha ,let me laugh at our counter intuitive mindsets ,its saddening actually. How’s a Mall full of imported consumer goods gonna boost Zambia’s economy?
@Enka, this is the tragedy of appointing PF cadres as parastatal heads. They are ill qualified and have no business acumen.
Boost the economy How???? Please mwebanthu are we sinking this low in Zambia ? What has happened to us ?
@Enka, my thoughts exactly.These guys we have in government are a joke and an embarassment. Am sure the ‘foreign investors’ laugh when they attend such functions and the govt officials are busy talking crap about economic development.The mall owners are just laughing and saying “you clueless bastard!”
Title shud hav been “Longacres Mall To Boost South African Economy”.
90% of the goods will be south african products including the salt (Cerebos-see how it runs). The rest will will be useless Chinese plastic products.
We need factories, processing plants, Not vi ma malls which create jobs for xenophobic south africans.
Nope
This an oppourtunity for zambian farmers to start then producing at a large scale to avoid importation.Look, all Economies in the world rely on infrastructure for growth irrespective of who trade in those mall/offices,weather its borrowed money or not,the building that are been built will automatically pay themselves its no Rocket science,its like rent in those houses in Kalingalinga,again irrespective of who trades there,The only thing that is worrying is Accoutabillity,Thanks
Public Service Pension directors need to arrested for abusing pensioners funds …its laughable to think that a shopping mall is development; why dont these organisations invest in Airports or manufacturing…to add insult to injury they are using Chinese company to build this nonsense and have put up large sign in Mandarin blocking the road.
Meanwhile…. UTH hospital is embarrassing some patients, still sleep on floors ..,dont even have water to wash their hands after using the toilet. Blackouts causing patients to die.
WHY BUILD MORE SHOPPING MALLS WHEN SOME SCHOOL CHILDREN HAVE NO CLASSROOMS; THEY LEARN UNDER THE TREES!
@Enka it seems like the reporter just repeated what was being said. Like the nonsense below:
Mr Nyirenda said the shopping mall, once operationalized will open various business ventures at both local and international level, thereby promoting growth on the country’s economy
How?
Zambia is indeed a trading paradise for finished goods! Its mall after mall instead of factories!
A mall can never boost an economy. Yes, probably the economy of your suppliers. You are consumers, not economy can be boosted by such a business arrangement. Sadly, even whatever will be transacted in that mall will be externalized leaving you with your peanut wages. That will not do the magic. Why do you think Trump is increasing Tariffs?
By suppliers you mean RSA based suppliers?
How I wish people would just for once listen to HH. How many times has he cautioned about this? He has even heavily simplified the explanatory model of how to grow the economy: its simply by job creation stupid. Now tell me how this mall is going to creat jobs? I mean Zambian jobs, not the jobs it will creat in the foreign countries which will find a lucrative market in this mall. Is your hatred for HH so extreme that you are even willing to destroy your own country? What a Christian nation! So much resentment and hatred
HH has the answers but not the solutions and I’m being objective here. He first has to find a way to solve this disconnect that Zambia has with him and he *might* make things work but I won’t be holding my breath for either.
@Webman, you guys really don’t know who your god HH is. He is an investor in the same malls you are trashing. HH has invested in the East Park Mall if you didn’t know. Of course as Zambians we need to invest in manufacturing but unfortunately most Zambians HH inclusive invest mainly property like malls etc and leave manufacturing to foreigners or Zambians of foreign descent.
@gary thanks for illustrating my point. That’s what I am talking about, mindless resentment and hatred of HH. Tell me what connection Lungu or RB had with Zambians to be elected presidents? They simply ‘inherited’ the position without lifting a finger
@Habeenzu, HH is not a God, he is a mere human being who currently happens to be a private citizen and allowed to make private private personal investments. I will be the first one to critize him, as a president if he makes public policies and investments which disadvantage citizens
I can assure you though that if this government opens up job creating industries like ITT or Fiat Motor Assemblers of KK’s era, HH will be there to invest
@Webman. Yes the PF have FAILED US to run the economy and other affairs properly. However, I believe HH is NOT a solution to the current quagmire and that OVERALL people DON’T hate him!! He just LACKS POLICY ALTERNATIVES TO WHAT IS HAPPENING! He like speaking with generalities rather than specifics,so how can he convince a discerning voter? Example, in last elections, he campaigned that he would bring “friends from the private sector to invest in ZESCO” without explaining that it would require tariffs to go up! His opponents in PF bit the bullet, increased tariffs and explained that it was the only way private investment would come into power generation! Any one can shout “job creation” even Lungu promised a million jobs, the problem they DON’T EXPLAIN HOW!! I believe any serious…
Your hh has no vision apart from the vision of condemning everything the government in power.Remember how he condemned the debasing of the Kwacha by PF Data!But today he doesn’t say anything about it!!
..continued.. I believe any serious leader MUST EXPLAIN HOW THEY WILL USE THE IDC, ZDA to DEVELOP AGRIC,TOURISM and MANUFACTURING TO CREATE JOBS! The so called private sector (who mainly outsiders)seem to be interested only in mining and quick bucks from retail trade!! This HAS TO BE CHANGED and HH does NOT seem to the GUY TO DO IT!!
@zambiaisours. Agreed. I don’t think there can’t be someone out there who is better than HH. When such a person appears why would we settle for the lesser product HH?
The question is, in this moment, does HH offer a better approach than that of the PF? If he does, which I believe to be the case, why are we settling for a lesser product in the name of PF
an economy based on malls in a country where more than three quarters of its people cannot afford to buy from the same malls. this is pf economics being run by a drunk mwanakatwe who is more interested in young men filling her huge void
Tribal Union of Zambia
The only boost of the economy (and i deeply hesitate to call it a boost)this mall will have is retail trade and services sub sector.Only other plus is a tiny step towards making Zambia a more formal retail marketplace as opposed to the overwhelming roadside informal retail.
Only South Africa & Kenya have a more formalized retail sector at 60% and 30% respectively.The rest of Africa is overwhelmingly a street retailer marketplace due to smaller middle class.
When it comes to Shopping Malls, the Producer is the winner and the Consumer is the loser! Most of our shopping Malls sell South African and Chinese produce! The only benefit to our economy is small change in taxes. Shopping Malls are good Sponges for sucking money out of an economy! Money is supposed to remain in our economy for us to realize the economic growth we want to see. Look closely at what the Chinese shops are doing. They are probably importing their merchandise duty free and after selling, the money goes to Bank of China and then to China! South African companies are doing the same using their banks – FNB, Stanbic. The only way these Malls will benefit Zambians is to create value chains for our local produce and we must up our standards as well to be competitive! Producers…
The only way round it is imposing tarriffs on groceries and fresh foods ….to hell with COMESA and SADC they are just talkshops …how does one justify a 10/90 trade imbalance to RSA…its a shame we dont have robust leaders like that of Rwanda…we have a President happy to kiss boots and travel around pointless.
Jay Jay – One of those rare times I agree with you.
@ Bamba Zonke Republic
Okay you have stated your point but why are you putting the blame on foreigners when infact no one has stopped you the Locals (natives) to be proactive and innovative. Lets face it, Zambians are short-termed people and dont invest and sacrifice their time in their businesses. For you own information, let me give you some tip, whatever goods from South Africa or wherever that we buy is nothing but BRANDING! So start to be quality oriented, brand your products to International Standards and you will flood these mores with local goods. Hopefully you will stop this blame game. Lets see opportunities as they come instead of being negative all the time even when the intention is meant to uplift your living standards, muletasha bane. If you cant think, work smartly, dont…
Producers win! Consumers lose!
Public Service Pension Fund has done its part. If you want an industry yourself invest in one. That was you will not be a spectator but contribute to the economy. Leave PSPF alone. They have done their part
Bwana PSPF is not a private entity but a public one and as such they have to invest in factories or industries where Zambia can export to earn foreign exchange or where Zambians can buy local products and help retain forex in the country. Your thinking is very shallow and an embarrassment to the intelligentsia.
How daft and careless is your comment…really laughable ….PSPF has done its part you say…do you know whose money that is for? You are also using a foreign contractor to build this mall…its a shame because the likes of you outnumber the everyone in govt boardrooms.
Rubbish! What value have the existing malls added to Zambia’s economy? They only add value to South Africa’s economy and only create low-paying jobs for locals. Just like the mines that we sold for a song to foreigners(whose profits go back to foreigners) huge chunks of funds generated by those malls go back to South Africa
How many designs now??? This is the third or fourth design. It just shows a lot of uncertainties.
Where are the industries people. This is not good investment.
Disaster!!!!
Only in the mind of a full cycle ***** can a shopping mall filled with imorted goods boost the country’s economy. Maybe this is the bush economics Katele Kalumba the village headman Natende in Senior Chief Puta’s ‘thievedom” is lecturing to them from his “traditional laptop” hired from Congoles Sangoma Mukote Kasai wa Mutubile Ngoi! Whatever it is, it will never work in Zambia.
Simply boycott and don’t go there! Ifwe twakulaya….hope they open a Keg & something there, so that we shoka Zambian beef and drink Zambian mosi! uushilefwaya lwakwe
You think gullible docile Zambians can boycott anything new and shiny…really laughable …loook at DSTV they pay the highest in the region and they are proud of it even invoiced in dollars.
We are just CONGESTING THE INITIALLY WELL PLANNED AREAS WITH MALLS instead of TAKING OVER SOME SHANTIES AND DEVELOPING THEM AS MODERN BUSINESS AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS!! We already complain that we have a BACKLOG OF HOUSING UNITS but Public funds are investing in Malls instead of building modern housing units for the growing urban population! And like others have commented; WE NEED TO STRUCTURE AND ENFORCE A LAW THAT WILL COMPEL SHOP OWNERS TO SOURCE A PERCENTAGE OF GOODS THEY SELL LOCALLY ESPECIALLY MANUFACTURED GOOD!! It will be up to them to work with local suppliers to improve on quality, this is the only way those investments in malls will make sense,HELP TO INDUSTRIALISE ZAMBIA!!
Everywhere there is a shopping mall…. in the UK malls are constructed within the CBA or out of town in areas where there is high unemployment. You can not have a shopping mall at a round about then another new one…you also have a shopping malls along great east road…sucking the little money people have and putting back nothing as these products are all imported.
What’s wrong with these moronic city planners who approved this nonsense.
Let’s develop this thing! It will NEVER be president! HAjelousy.
MFEZ has just opened a computer assembling plant.
Jay Jay
You have hit it spot on. Yet no ody gets your point.
This is the elephant in the room…
If you can import goods DUTY FREE from South Africa under SADC, who would be stupid enough to pump investment into factories ? You simply order a container of goods from SA, sell it to import loving Zambians, ship your money out, and get rich !
You can do likewise with goods under COMESA
Our membership of SADC with South Africa is truly a 99/1 relationship, not 90/10 as you estimate. You ever seen Zambian goods in Johannesburg ?