BEITBRIDGE, Aug. 15 (NEWSDAY LIVE) — Orange Ville Trading (Pvt) Ltd, a fully integrated citrus processing company based in Beitbridge, is positioning itself as a regional citrus processing hub, with a government delegation scheduled to tour its operations today.
Established in 2024, the company has invested more than US$43 million in its citrus value chain, spanning commercial nurseries and orchards to harvesting, procurement and processing at its orange crush plant.
Orange Ville, an authorised supplier to Coca-Cola Schweppes Zimbabwe, commissioned its citrus processing facility in 2025.
Speaking ahead of today’s ministerial tour, owner and managing director Brandon Park said the company currently employs more than 400 people, with direct employment expected to rise to about 2 000 when the business reaches full development.
“Beyond direct employment, our operations are generating a significant regional economic multiplier for Beitbridge, boosting foreign currency earnings and supporting transport, engineering, packaging and logistics services in the area,” Park said.
Central to the company’s expansion strategy is a proposed public-private partnership with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) around Zhove Dam, which supplies water for its irrigation operations.
Park said a bathymetric survey commissioned by Orange Ville and conducted under ZINWA’s supervision found that Zhove Dam’s original capacity of 133 million cubic metres had declined to 109 million cubic metres, largely because of sedimentation.
The survey put the dam’s sustainable annual yield at 45 million cubic metres.
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“To address the resulting water losses, the company has proposed financing construction of a pipeline from the dam,” Park said.
He said the pipeline would reduce conveyance losses and improve the productive use of available water, potentially unlocking about 40% more land for planting through more efficient water releases.
The findings also indicated that the dam could support irrigation of about 6 000 hectares, above the 3 500 hectares currently under discussion.
Under the proposed arrangement, ownership of the completed pipeline would vest in ZINWA as part of the national water infrastructure, with the authority repaying Orange Ville’s capital investment through credits to the company’s future water account.
Orange Ville has also agreed to advance US$100 000 to ZINWA for refurbishment of the Zhove Dam outlet valves. The amount would similarly be recovered through credits to the company’s water account.
Government officials have described the arrangement as a potential partnership model that would create a national asset while improving water delivery and irrigation capacity.
Park said the company’s agricultural operations were built around precision farming, irrigation monitoring, mechanisation and climate-smart techniques, with a focus on soil conservation, efficient water use and renewable energy.
Orange Ville is also developing its beverage strategy in two phases under the Jambo brand.
The first phase involves contract bottling in South Africa to establish Jambo in Zimbabwe and the wider SADC market, while the second phase will involve construction of a Jambo bottling plant in Zimbabwe.
The local plant is expected to increase domestic value addition, manufacturing capacity and employment.
The company also plans to establish a peel processing plant to produce dried citrus peel and animal feed ingredients, with pectin production planned at a later stage.
Its existing product range includes 65 Brix concentrate, citrus comminute, citrus cells, essential oils and citrus peel.
Park said the expansion would increase the company’s export potential for concentrates, comminute, citrus cells, essential oils and Jambo beverages across Zimbabwe, the SADC region and international markets.
Orange Ville plans to expand its citrus orchards to about 2 000 hectares while developing the peel processing facility, local bottling plant and other value-added product lines.
The expansion is expected to create about 2 000 direct jobs.
“Our plans align with government priorities around irrigation development, value addition, industrialisation, employment creation, export growth and food security,” Park said.
The company says its long-term vision is to establish Beitbridge as the citrus processing capital of Southern Africa through investment, innovation, sustainable water management and partnerships with government.
