The Government has over the last five years spent over P700 million in infrastructure developments at the Airport City Special Economic Zone to ready it for investors. Located adjacent to the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, airport City is the Botswana’s flagship SEZ, as it was the first to be developed during phase one of the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) strategic plan.
The 865 hectare project is a joint venture between SEZA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) who are the owners of the land on which Airport City is located. It is a huge chunk of land, incorporating some of Botswana’s premier corporations like De Beers, Debswana, Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) and the Diamond Park, which is home to the country’s leading diamond cutting and polishing company.
“The Airport City has been zoned as a Diamond & Logistics hub. Key economic activities at the Airport City SEZ will include diamond beneficiation, cargo, freight & logistics, specialist automotives, pharmaceuticals and genomics,” said SEZA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lonely Mogara. To prepare the Airport City for investors, SEZA first conducted an intensive feasibility study before issuing tenders for the development of the master plan.
According to Mogara, the master plan was meant to guide the long term business strategy and future infrastructure developments within the Airport City. After the master plan was approved in 2018, SEZA then issued a P100 million tender for the Boulevard One project, which included a 1.8 KM six lane dual carriage way, together with engineering designs and an environmental management plan for the first 100 hectares of the Diamonds & Logistics City. The project also incorporated an urban design scheme for provision of underground services like water, fibre, power, lighting, smart city ducting and CCTV. This would include storm water drainage, primary water and sewer networks, electrical power reticulation, streetlighting, pedestrian and cyclist pathways, telecommunications networks and a sewer lift station.
SEZA has previously revealed that all services at the Airport City SEZ, including water, fibre, power, lighting, smart city ducting and CCTV are underground.The Boulevard One Road opens up a number of precincts in the Airport City; namely Edge City, Technohub, Industrial and Logistics Hub. Government also issued a P579 million tender for the Phase II development of the Airport City SEZ. Covering 100 ha, the project includes a 16 km road network and further bulk infrastructure projects. Concurrently, government recently awarded a P120 million tender for the construction of factory shells at Airport City, as a way of further readying the flagship SEZ for investors.
According to Mogara, 80 percent of the land at Airport City will be reserved for core clients, who are high impact investors who are targeted at exporting and have international networks through which they can create large scale employment and skills transfer for Batswana. The remaining 20 percent of the SEZ will be taken up by non-core business, who will be mainly offering support services like retail, hospitality, health, education, services and local residential services. Over the next 20 years, Airport City SEZ is expected to generate many direct and indirect jobs from international businesses operating in the manufacturing and international services space.
The 865 hectare project is a joint venture between SEZA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) who are the owners of the land on which Airport City is located. It is a huge chunk of land, incorporating some of Botswana’s premier corporations like De Beers, Debswana, Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) and the Diamond Park, which is home to the country’s leading diamond cutting and polishing company.
“The Airport City has been zoned as a Diamond & Logistics hub. Key economic activities at the Airport City SEZ will include diamond beneficiation, cargo, freight & logistics, specialist automotives, pharmaceuticals and genomics,” said SEZA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lonely Mogara. To prepare the Airport City for investors, SEZA first conducted an intensive feasibility study before issuing tenders for the development of the master plan.
According to Mogara, the master plan was meant to guide the long term business strategy and future infrastructure developments within the Airport City. After the master plan was approved in 2018, SEZA then issued a P100 million tender for the Boulevard One project, which included a 1.8 KM six lane dual carriage way, together with engineering designs and an environmental management plan for the first 100 hectares of the Diamonds & Logistics City. The project also incorporated an urban design scheme for provision of underground services like water, fibre, power, lighting, smart city ducting and CCTV. This would include storm water drainage, primary water and sewer networks, electrical power reticulation, streetlighting, pedestrian and cyclist pathways, telecommunications networks and a sewer lift station.
SEZA has previously revealed that all services at the Airport City SEZ, including water, fibre, power, lighting, smart city ducting and CCTV are underground.The Boulevard One Road opens up a number of precincts in the Airport City; namely Edge City, Technohub, Industrial and Logistics Hub. Government also issued a P579 million tender for the Phase II development of the Airport City SEZ. Covering 100 ha, the project includes a 16 km road network and further bulk infrastructure projects. Concurrently, government recently awarded a P120 million tender for the construction of factory shells at Airport City, as a way of further readying the flagship SEZ for investors.
According to Mogara, 80 percent of the land at Airport City will be reserved for core clients, who are high impact investors who are targeted at exporting and have international networks through which they can create large scale employment and skills transfer for Batswana. The remaining 20 percent of the SEZ will be taken up by non-core business, who will be mainly offering support services like retail, hospitality, health, education, services and local residential services. Over the next 20 years, Airport City SEZ is expected to generate many direct and indirect jobs from international businesses operating in the manufacturing and international services space.
