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Oliver Kazunga Business Reporter
ETHANOL production has resumed at Green Fuel in Chisumbanje with the plant producing 200 000 litres a day, the company’s general manager Mr Graeme Smith said yesterday. The company resumed operations a few days ago following an agreement with the Government to form a joint venture project in line with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
Operations at the $600 million plant were suspended early last year.
Mr Smith told Business Chronicle that the plant resumed operations a few days ago.
“The plant is now running, producing 200 000 litres of ethanol a day. Going forward, the production levels can be expanded to 6.5 million litres a month,” he said.
The Chisumbanje plant produces anhydrous ethanol for blending with unleaded petrol and this is expected to reduce fuel price on the local market as well as reducing the country’s fuel import bill.
The Government has licensed Green Fuel to blend petrol with ethanol.
In the past, Zimbabwe was spending $45 million on importing between 30 million and 40 million litres of petrol a month.
In addition, the project will also reduce unemployment in the country.
Mr Smith said the whole ethanol project employs 3 800 people.
“The entire project has the capacity to create 4 500 jobs and as we expand operations we will re-employ more and more people,” he said.
It is also hoped that the resumption of operations and continued expansion of ethanol project would see the firm producing power that will be fed into the national grid to reduce power challenges.
Online Reporter