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Lovemore Zigara Midlands Correspondent
The country’s sole Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertiliser manufacturer, Sable Chemicals (Pvt) Limited, is losing at least $1 million per month due to the continued non-operation of NewZim Steel (formerly Ziscosteel).Sable used to supply NewZim Steel with oxygen used to blow blast furnaces at the giant steel manufacturing plant.
The pipeline which links the fertiliser manufacturer and NewZim Steel is now a white elephant.
Sable Chemicals Chief Executive Officer, Jack Murehwa, said the fertiliser manufacturer was now forced to release 60 percent of oxygen the company produces into the atmosphere as there were no takers for the commodity.
“Zisco used to consume 60 percent of our oxygen so we are now forced to release this amount into the atmosphere and sell the remainder to other clients such as Zimasco and BOC Gases,” said Murehwa.
“As a result of the non-operation of NewZim Steel we are losing about $1 million monthly in potential revenue. We pray that operations will resume soon because this has affected our cash inflows which would have come in handy to sustain some of our operations.”
Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha recently said government fulfilled outstanding obligations that had been stalling the revival of Zisco and awaited new majority shareholder Essar Africa to meet its end of the bargain.
NewZim Steel was born from the ashes of Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Zisco) which shut down operations at the height of economic challenges in 2008 before the Indian conglomerate snapped a 54 percent stake in the company from government in a deal worth $750 million.
However, almost two-and-a-half years down the line, operations are still to resume, affecting a workforce of 1,500 people.
At its peak the Redcliff-based steel manufacturer used to be one of the biggest steelworks in Africa employing 4,000 workers with an annual output of a million tonnes of steel.
Online Reporter