adminBusiness Correspondent
GOVERNMENT will soon conduct feasibility research to determine the resuscitation of the Feruka Oil Refinery in Mutare, which was shut down around 1966, a senior Government official has said.
Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Samuel Undenge revealed this during the Mutare Press Club re-launch last week Friday.
Minister Undenge said the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre visited the site last year and would soon engage consultants for feasibility research.
The minister said although a lot of criticism may have been garnered last year over ideas to resuscitate the old plant Government was looking at the employment opportunities the plant had.
“SIRDC visited the site last year. We are now going to engage consultants for a feasibility study. As Government we are for the idea that we must resuscitate the plant with employment creation objectives.
“Mutare must come to life and this is the only way, resuscitating industry.
“This project would in turn also save cash outflow and enhance security of fuel supply in the country,” said Minister Undenge.
Last year, oil industry experts with CMPZ, the National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe, and Petrozim Line, said forensic studies that were done long back showed that importing oil products was cheaper than resuscitating the refinery.
The Feruka Oil Refinery is connected to the Feruka pipeline to the Mozambican port city of Beira where the bulk of Zimbabwe’s fuel imports are shipped through while some comes by road through South Africa.
A small proportion comes from Chisumbanje which produces ethanol blended with petrol. Minister Undenge said Zimbabwe’s fuel consumption more than doubled in the past three years.
He said the average daily consumption of diesel is 2,5 million litres while that of petrol blend is 1,5 million litres, which meant a million of much-needed liquidity is being lost to fuel imports.
Minister Undenge, who is also the acting Zanu-PF Manicaland chairman, said the provincial political leadership would this year focus on a developmental thrust to revive traditional industry and identify new industry in Manicaland under the guidance of the economic turnaround blueprint Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation.
He said they would forego ‘‘sunset industry’’ that had outlived its time and pave way for feasible projects and new industry like diamond polishing and cutting, which must be prioritised as key value addition projects for Manicaland.
“In Mutare value addition is something we want to push for. Mutare City Council has already earmarked land for value addition projects such as the diamond polishing and cutting centre.
“In Harare we have already started interactive forums with Manicaland businesspeople strategising big projects we can line up to boost industry in the province.
“We, however, want to make this forum broader,” said the minister.
Speaking at the same occasion, Mutare businessman Mr Joseph Sanhanga said Government must now focus on bread and butter issues. He urged the minister to rope in local businesspeople for an indaba to chart out ways the province could steer it own beneficiation and value addition projects.
“As Manicaland businesspeople, we are more than ready to meet and chart ways forward for developmental projects. We want to put food on the table and create employment opportunities for the thousands of graduates completing their studies each year in our colleges,” said Mr Sanhanga.
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