BSE to construct state of the art HQ
Lewanika Timothy | Tuesday July 11, 2023 06:00
This was announced by BSE management during a groundbreaking event at the Central Business District where the building will be built.
Central Securities Depository board member, Pascaline Sefawe, said construction is set to begin soon and the project represents greater efforts by the BSE to build an iconic home that will also serve as a revenue stream for the Exchange.
“It is intended that the building project will commence during the fourth quarter of 2023 and we envisage that it should be ready for occupancy by the end of 2025,” she said.
The BSE is currently based at Fairgrounds Office Precinct, a building owned by the Botswana Development Corporation. Previously the Exchange was housed elsewhere within the Fairgrounds offices area. The new headquarters presents the Exchange with its own premises from where to launch its drive to grow listings and value creation.
Sefawe further said logistical arrangements are in place and engagements with architectures and engineers are at advanced stages. She further said the headquarters will be a seven floor building which will house an array of institutions involved with the capital market.
“We will follow the highest standard to ensure its completion on time and within budget,” she added.
For his part, BSE CEO, Thapelo Tsheole said the new building will represent the dreams and aspirations held by stakeholders and partners of the local bourse. He further revealed that the building will sit on 5,410 square metres of land facing the Nelson Mandela highway.
“The dream of building an iconic home would not be in motion without the support of the Ministry of Finance which has helped us greatly to secure the land,” Tsheole said.
The CEO further revealed that the aspirations of the BSE are to construct a building that aligns with principles of environmental friendlessness and citizen economic empowerment.
“We will contract citizen-owned companies for most of the works and we want to build an environmentally friendly building, one representing excellence. “All stakeholders that will be involved must bring nothing short of excellence,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Olesitse Masimega said he is pleased that the building will contribute towards societal benefits through employment creation. Masimega further said the new home of the BSE will further enable Batswana to have easy access to the BSE with more space to host Batswana for training and knowledge dissemination.
“Further, the design of the building will accommodate comfortable sitting and standing areas for stock exchange visitors to view the stock market price movement on the ticker and take pictures next to the stock market bull. “This will further echo the BSE as a true partner in wealth creation.”