By Dickson Bandera
Chinese mining and logistics firm, Labenmon Investment in partnership with WIC Cement Developing Company Limited this Wednesday announced a $1 billion investment that will see the construction of a new building materials industrial park in Zimbabwe.
The two firms signed an agreement in Harare for a project expected to create over 2 million tons of cement per year as well as jobs for 5 000 people in Karoi and Bulawayo.
Speaking to the media at the signing ceremony, WIC President Wang Fayon gave the details of the agreement, the investors commitment and the work that lies ahead.
“Today, West International Holding reached a cooperation agreement with Labenmon Investments Pvt Limited, planning to build a new building materials industrial park in Zimbabwe.
“The project is divided into two parts, which will be constructed at the same time. The first part will build a new building materials industrial park in Karoi, which includes a new dry-process clinker cement production line with an annual output of 1.8 million tons and a supporting 100MW generating unit.
“The second part of the project will build a grinding plant with an annual output of 900, 000 tons in Bulawayo; the total construction period will last for 24 months, with an estimated investment of 1 billion U.S. dollars,” said Fayon.
Upon full completion of the project, Fayon said the cement production capacity will exceed 2 million tons, effectively solving the local demand gap for cement
and filling the gap in the market for high-quality cement and high-calcium
white ash.
At the same time, it will reduce the foreign exchange expenditure caused by the import of clinker and white ash while meeting the demand for infrastructure construction, industrial smelting and agricultural development.
Fayon further indicated that after the signing, the project office will now formulate a detailed construction plan, promote the project procedures and qualifications in an orderly manner in compliance with Zimbabwean laws and regulations.
WIC, which has invested in other countries, including Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said was attracted to Zimbabwe by the conducive business environment anchored on the demand of cement and building materials.
“The brisk demand for cement and building materials, immense market potential, and dynamic growth prospects in infrastructure have profoundly attracted and strengthened the determination of West International Holding to invest in Zimbabwe, said Fayon
Zimbabwe has been on a development overdrive in recent years and is attracting Foreign Direct Investment due to the renewed policies which have created an improved business environment.
China is now the biggest source of investments for Zimbabwe as the China Zimbabwe relations continue to grow.
The Investors also committed themselves to “closely follows the four themes of “intelligence, environmental protection, green and technology”, and with the Group’s technical strength and business philosophy of “industry-leading, casting high-quality products”, and to create advanced, intelligent and green high-quality projects”.
The increase in the manufacturing of products locally is encouraging and would go a long way in not only increasing competition but stabilising prices of goods.
