By Rex Mphisa
BEITBRIDGE youths are expected to benefit immensely from a twinning arrangement of their local authority and the Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province The People’s Republic of China.
This twinning will see cultural, educational and business exchanges by peoples of the two places.
Already Beitbridge has taken a step forward to start the process and has invited officials of Yuncheng to Beitbridge and later the local authority will travel to China to seal the deal opening avenues for local children to be educated in developed China.
“We are advanced in this arrangement. You are aware the chines are in Beitbridge at Xintai and we have engaged them. We expect proper business engagement between our local authorities,” BBRDC chairman Oscar Chiromo said in an interview.
“The council has already made an official invitation to that town’s mayor, which I as chairman, signed, and it has been dispatched,” he said.
On the education of Children Chiromo said China was advanced and his council saw the opportunity to tap from the powerful country.
“We have no institutions of higher learning here and when this opportunity was available, we immediately thought of the children. The children are the future and this is a window of life we cannot let go,” he said.
A copy of the letter seen by Ziyah News Network showed the invitation was extended to the Mayor off Pinglu County, and his delegation to pay an official visit to Beitbridge for four days and three nights between October 2025 and December 2025.
“This invitation follows the successful signing of the Letter of Intent for the Establishment of a Sister City Relationship between our two regions. namely, Beitbridge Rural District Council and Pinglu County, Yuncheng City. Shanxi Province. This Letter of Intent, rooted in the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and the deepening of Sino-Zimbabwean diplomatic relations, outlines our shared aspirations to cooperate in key sectors such as agriculture, industry, and cultural exchange.”
“As a subsequent step in implementing this agreement, your visit will be an important milestone in promoting high-level exchanges and exploring practical areas for cooperation. During your stay, our Council will arrange for your delegation to meet with relevant government departments and local stakeholders to initiate discussions on areas of mutual interest,” said Chiromo.
BBRDC was also excited about their guests visit to the Chinese project of XinGangLian (ShanXi) Holding Group Co., Ltd likely to improve already cordial relations between the BBRDC and Xintai Resources at Beitbridge.
“The visit will help promote in-depth cooperation between our two sides in key sectors such as mining, manufacturing, agriculture and jointly advance industrial transformation and upgrade.”
Xintai Resources had its groundbreaking US$3.6 billion energy industrial park is set up in Beitbridge and is expected to turn around Beitbridge’s economic fortunes.
It is housed by the BBRDC some 20 kilometres west of urban Beitbridge at Palm River Energy, and the Metallurgical Special Economic Zone.
The park aims to bolster Zimbabwe’s mining and energy sectors through the production of stainless steel, along with significant infrastructure and employment opportunities.
In its first year, the project had already employed 400 local workers, with plans to expand to 2,000 employees once fully operational.
The number of employees has since increased and Chiromo believes those employed there will capture knowledge they can replicate in other parts of the district.
Covering 5,100 hectares within a designated Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the initiative represents a strategic move to develop Beitbridge into an integrated mining and energy hub.
The launch of the industrial park follows discussions between Palm River Energy chairman Mr. Xong Xi Dong and President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who greenlit the project as part of his administration’s “Zimbabwe is open for business” policy.
The park’s first phase, a joint venture between the Government, Xintai Resources, and Tuli Coal, included the establishment of a coking plant capable of producing one million tonnes of coke annually, a ferro-chrome smelting plant to generate 100,000 tonnes of high-carbon ferro-chrome, and a 1,200 MW coal-fired thermal power plant.
Excess power produced by the facility will be fed into the national grid.
The ferro-chrome plant will contribute to the production of special and stainless steel, positioning Zimbabwe as a major player in global steel production. Coal for the park will be sourced from Tuli Coal Mine, with plans to export coal products to international markets, boosting foreign currency earnings.
President Mnangagwa commissioned the plant and Mines Minister Winston Chitando praised him for securing the deal and necessary capital and monitoring progress closely.
Chitando said during his recent visit: “This project exemplifies the success of the Second Republic’s ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ mantra,”