Retail development in Mozambique is set to increase significantly over the next few years, says Wayne Wright, business development director for JHI property services company.

The subsidiary company, JHI Real Estate Mozambique, recently opened a further branch office in Matola and is now looking to expand to other key growth areas in the region, Wright said on Monday.

"With few formal national retail brands, Mozambique experiences a strong demand for retail that reaches the masses.

"Coupled with this, the agglomeration of these brands into shopping centres is rare, with the exception of four Shoprite centres in Maputo, Matola, Chimoio and Beira as well as the MBS Centre in downtown Maputo and a few smaller strip malls.

"As a result we foresee development in the retail sector in the near future. Already Pick 'n Pay and SPAR have embarked on aggressive strategies to establish a presence in Maputo and Matola - as well as in every provincial capital - with developers eager to accommodate them in strip-malls built to specification."

Wright says a project which is set to transform downtown Maputo is the 380 000sqm FACIM (Maputo International Trade Fair) development, located on prime land and which will include retail, hotels, offices and a residential component.

Negotiations are under way to integrate the FACIM project with the Maputo estuary, creating a marina as well as a pedestrian area between the river and the development.

Meanwhile in the adjoining town of Matola, the close to 42 000sqm retail component of the Cidadela da Matola is expected to open to the public in early 2012.

This project is progressing well with the retail component fully committed to a vibrant mix of Mozambican and South African brands.

An announcement regarding further components of the development is anticipated before the end of 2010.

JHI Mozambique's chairman Manuel Vieira commented: "Since 1992 Mozambique's economy has undergone radical change, resulting in significant growth, while politically the country has stabilised and the democratic process consolidated as it heads into two decades since the peace accords.

"Currently the next challenges facing the country are decentralisation, which needs to be accompanied by capacity building at civil servant level and job creation for the youth. With dependence on external donor aid likely to continue, the country is exposed to external factors including price hikes in regard to petroleum.

"However, while 2009 was a difficult year due to the global slowdown, the government made sound investment decisions which kept the economy in a positive growth cycle.

We anticipate meaningful growth in late 2010 and 2011 as the coal projects in Tete province begin exporting some of their first coal," Vieira said.

From a tourism perspective, Mozambique is seeing a new wave of investment in hotels with the world-famous Polana Hotel currently being refurbished and a Radisson greenfield development rising out of the ground at the Joaquim Chissano Conference Centre.

This 200-room hotel will be located on the Avenida da Marginal, near the Southern Sun hotel and overlooking the ocean.

Vieira added: "The arrival of Park Inn with a new 120-room hotel is further evidence of this trend, with other brands, including Kempinski and Six Senses also visiting Mozambique with increased frequency in order to secure sites for their developments."

Source: I-Net Bridge