Story by Abigirl Tembo
ZIMBABWE is looking to Tajikistan’s vast experience in aluminium production to bolster its own lightweight metal industry, a move that promises significant economic benefits.
Vice President General (Rtd) Dr Constantino Chiwenga revealed this after touring the Tajik Aluminium Company (TALCO) on the sidelines of the just ended Third high-level international conference on Water for Sustainable Development
The TALCO boasts an annual production capacity exceeding 500 000 tonnes.
Aluminum’s versatility is a major draw, with applications ranging from aerospace engineering to food packaging and electrical conductors.
With Zimbabwe already transitioning from copper to aluminium conductors due to vandalism concerns,
Vice President Chiwenga said the government is keen on establishing similar world-leading processing plants within Zimbabwe.
“At home, we have CAFCA, which is producing electrical cables from aluminium, but the extent of this factory (TALCO) is quite massive. We would want to see how we can cooperate in aluminium production, as we are migrating from copper cables to aluminium, and these huge production figures are what we would want to see.
“They will be in touch with our people back home who are doing the cables. You have seen how they have evolved their operations from 1975 up to the present day. We are inviting them to partner with local companies; we are in the same group of countries with them and we would like to share whatever we can tap from their expertise and whatever experiences they can also get from us.”
Tajikistan’s Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Sherali Kabir, expressed enthusiasm for collaboration, pointing out the similarities between the two developing nations.
“We discussed ways we can improve the cooperation for the mutual benefit of our countries, and there are many areas in which Tajikistan and Zimbabwe are similar to each other, and this can be used as an opportunity to strengthen one another. We are ready to cooperate and participate in the mining sector of Zimbabwe.
“Currently, there are about six companies in Tajikistan with over a billion dollars in turnover and they have an advantage in terms of technology, human resources and financial resources as well. The resources that these companies have is something that we want to utilise and take advantage of as we collaborate with Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwe’s strategic move towards aluminium beneficiation, with the help of Tajikistan’s knowledge and experience, has the potential to transform the country’s lightweight metal industry, creating jobs, boosting exports, and positioning the nation as a key player in the global aluminium market.
