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Transport, Works Supply & Communications
infrastructure investments, and a continual rising de-
mand for housing. The expanded production of ce-
ment by local manufacturers has also aided growth
in the sector.
The National Council for Construction has been no-
ticeably successful since its establishment in 2004.
The Council has managed to open a Northern re-
gional Office in Kitwe and this has helped in increas-
ing the number of registered contractors from 1,809
in 2009 to 2,700 in 2010. The increase in numbers
of registered contractors has also generated an in-
crease in revenue from registration fees. In 2009,
the Council collected K 4.9 Billion in registration fees
while in 2010 the Council collected K 5.1 Billion.
The National Council for Construction has contin-
ued to build capacity among small-scale contractors
by offering courses that would give them skills that
are enable them to take on larger jobs in the high
thresholds.
As of 2011, construction activities were heav-
ily focused on the rehabilitation of roads across the
country, in particular North-Western Province, the
development of a new tourism zone in Livingstone,
and infrastructure to support the establishment of
government initiated Multi-Facility Economic Zones.
Investments in social infrastructure have been made
via the construction and rehabilitation of health cen-
tres, district hospitals, as well as classrooms, trades
training institutes and universities.
PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
Favourable socioeconomic factors and contempo-
rary developments have boosted the commercial
and residential property market in Zambia in recent
years, attracting a large percentage of buyers hailing
from South Africa. The development of the financial
sector, particularly with respect to home loans, along
with increasing incomes of Zambian over the past
few years, has also made property ownership more
affordable to many citizens. The Heart of Africa is
Zambia’s first ever lifestyle estate as well as the
country’s largest residential project to date, and is
composed of approximately 850 homes along with a
commercial and retail node, a five-star hotel, restau-
rants, an 18-hole Matkovich-designed golf course, a
country club, dams and communal parks covering
70 hectares. Another project, the US$ 200 million
Jewel of Lusaka, mixed-used development project
at Levy Junction in the heart of Lusaka developed
by Liberty Properties and the Zambia National Pen-
sion Scheme Authority (NAPSA), will provide retail,
office, hotel and residential space within one unique
complex.
In addition, Intermarket Securities Limited (ISL) is
to develop a three-star hotel, business park and
other infrastructure such as student dorms and staff
houses at the University of Zambia under a PPP ar-
rangement at an estimated cost of somewhere be-
tween US$ 60 and 90 million. The project is being
undertaken on a ‘develop, build, operate and trans-
fer’ (DBOT) basis and will have a transfer period of
between 25 and 30 years.
Lusaka’s new skyline
ENCOURAGING COMMERCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
As of 1 January 2010, VAT has been charged on the
sale of commercial properties. This has had a posi-
tive impact on developers’ cash flows, as they have
been entitled to reclaim input VAT on construction
expenditure on a monthly basis, while only paying
output VAT at the time of sale. This initiative has
also encouraged further development of commer-
cial properties and related infrastructure, as well as
reduced the cost of buying and leasing commercial
property in the longer term.