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Conrad Mupesa–Mashonaland West Bureau
THE Magunje community in Mashonaland West has welcomed the setting up of a US$1 billion cement manufacturing plant in the area by Chinese investors.
The project is a partnership between Labenmon Investments (Pvt) Ltd and West International Holding.
While the project is expected to be completed in 2025, the signing ceremony conducted recently gave the province hope for a better future.
Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Marian Chombo told The Herald that the production of cement will create employment for people in the province, as it envisages, in its blueprint to create 5 000 jobs for locals.
“There will be more employment in industries such as construction and transport as we ship the product out of the province. This improves the standard of living for the province’s population,” said Min Chombo.
“The coming in of the project in Hurungwe will provide an opportunity for creating a bigger productive town in Karoi. The plant will bring life into the farming town apart from the boom being created by tobacco and cereal production. The plant will contribute to the manufacturing sector’s provincial GDP which is currently below five percent.”
Manufacturing provides stable long-term employment opportunities as well as creating a platform for the development of other industries that require cement as a prime product.
Minister Chombo noted that the setting up of the plant in Hurungwe’s rural area is evidence of rural industrialisation being advocated by President Mnangagwa.
Magunje legislator, Cde Super Monga Madiro said he was elated by the development which would turn around the fortunes of the constituency. The project was expected to increase cement production in the country and thus reduce imports of the product that was currently in high demand.
During the signing ceremony president of West International West Holding Wang Fayin said, the project, upon completion, was expected to fill the local demand gap in the market for high-quality cement and high-calcium white ash, reducing foreign exchange expenditure caused by the import of clinker and white ash while meeting the infrastructure construction demand, industrial smelting and agricultural development.
The investment would see a new dry-process clinker cement production line with an annual capacity of 2.7 million tonnes equipped with a 100MW power generation unit and a cement grinding station with an annual capacity of 900 000 tonnes.
“The project will also create employment for about 5 000 people, to save a lot of foreign exchange for Zimbabwe from cement imports and increase the US dollar tax revenue,” he said.
Labenmon Investments local representative Mr Thomas Chidzomba said the company was committed to complementing President Mnangagwa’s vision by promoting sustainable investments, exploration, mining, value addition, and efficient management of mineral resources. “Our choice to establish a plant in Magunje is strategic, aiming to foster rural industrialisation, thereby contributing to the overall development of the region and the realisation of Vision 2030,” he said.
He also hailed President Mnangagwa and the Government of Zimbabwe for fostering an environment conducive enough to lure investors under the ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ mantra.
Online Reporter