Zimbabwe is projecting a rise in the gross domestic product (GDP) to 9 billion U. S. dollars by 2015 on the back of anticipated strong growth in four key sectors of the economy.
Agriculture, mining, manufacturing and tourism are all expecting to register positive growth in 2010.
The government would anchor the GDP growth on a new medium-term plan (MTP) running between 2010 and 2015 due for launch in March.
The economic plan comes hot on the heels of the three-year macro-economic policy and budgetary framework running from 2010 to 2012
launched by the government on Dec. 23.
The three-year framework targets a GDP of 5.6 billion dollars in 2010, 5.9 billion dollars in 2011 and 6.3 billion dollars in 2012.
Secretary for Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Desire Sibanda said the medium-term plan was a broad development policy that will focus on economic growth and poverty reduction.
"In the MTP, the economic environment is foreseen to be vibrant and see us get back to 9 billion dollars GDP within the next five years," Sibanda was quoted saying by the Herald newspaper on Tuesday.
The GDP target means that Zimbabwe's economy would have to grow at an average 15 percent per annum within the next five years.
Sibanda said the ambitious growth estimates were taken in light of similar high growth rates that were achieved by other African countries
emerging from similar economic conditions as Zimbabwe.
"For example, African countries' average growth before the financial crisis was 7 percent with Angola growing at 21 percent in 2007," he said.
The MTP would be private sector-driven through the effective implementation of public-private sector partnerships and the policy
emphasizes the role of multilateral financial institutions in development, Sibanda explained.
Zimbabwe's inclusive government launched its first economic blueprint in March 2009, the Short Term Economic Recovery Program that ran until
December.
The blueprint has been credited for halting economic decline, bringing down inflation to negative percentages and stabilizing the economy, which contracted by 40 percent in 2008.
Successor policies are therefore expected to promote sustainable growth of the economy and reduce poverty levels which worsened during the
decade-long economic crisis.