Story by Tamuka Charakupa
ZIMBABWE is edging closer to stopping cement imports after the setting up of various production plants across the country.
Chinese firm, Shungai Investment, is setting up a US$70 million cement plant in Chegutu, a development which is earmarked to catapult the country towards cement self-sufficiency status.
The plant is expected to start full production next year, with a projected output of 800 000 tonnes of cement annually.
Shuntai Investments (Pvt) Ltd Administration Manager, Mr Yan Bo confirmed that his firm is seeking a Special Economic Zone status to operate competitively.
“We are installing technologically-advanced machines and making use of locally available resources, so this means we are going to have minimum production cost, which translates to reduced retail price of a bag of cement. So far, we have already employed 300 local youths from Chegutu, and across all our operations, we are looking at about 4 000 people in total. For the Chegutu plant, we have set up January of next year as our completion target.”
Chegutu District Development Coordinator, Mr Mark Kadaira, is impressed with the localised industrialisation drive, especially in driving youth empowerment.
“This investment dovetails with the President’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind. As a district, we are going to benefit a lot, especially in youth employment and the cheap availability of cement, which obviously plays a part in infrastructure development.”
The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Honourable Mangaliso Ndlovu, said the government’s target is to improve the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the current 14.5 percent to 22 percent.
“Again, clearly a testimony that our manufacturing sector is on a firm recovery bound. Those who might have heard that the recent statistics indicate that the manufacturing sector is, in fact, the biggest contributor to GDP at 14.5 percent. Our target is to get to 22 percent of GDP, which is where we were during the first decade of our independence. And it is through these investments that we accelerate the path to that target.”
Meanwhile, another Chinese investor, WhiZim International, is setting up a US$1 billion cement plant in Magunje, Hurungwe, where over 2 000 will be employed.
Construction works are also at an advanced stage.
