Online Reporter
Melody Chikono in RABAT, Morocco
THE commercial arm of the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC), Zimbabwe Technological Solutions (ZTS) is courting international investors to raise US$45 million that is needed to set up a foot and mouth disease vaccine manufacturing plant, which is expected to significantly cut the country’s import bill.
ZTS is seeking international investors for a US$45 million foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine plant, with the company saying the project is critical to reducing the country’s annual livestock vaccines import bill.
In 2019, the Zimbabwean Government tasked SIRDC to develop and localise production of veterinary Vaccines at a time when the country had been importing the same for up to US$5 million annually.
On the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Investment Forum, which is hosted by the African Development Bank in Morocco, the ZTS general manager, Mr Selwyn Dhliwayo, indicated that the US$45 million is for both working capital and capital expenditure.
Financial closure, when attained, will enable the construction of a state-of-the-art production plant that meets at least bio-safety level 3 standards.
“We travelled to the African Investment Forum to look for investors for the projects that we have in our portfolio, but the FMD vaccine manufacturing plant is the main focus,” he said. “We are seeking partnerships to enable local production of essential veterinary medicines for the growth of the livestock sector as well as resuscitation of the once vibrant beef export industry.”
Dhliwayo said the plant will have an annual capacity of 8 million doses, adding that Zimbabwe currently spends up to US$5 million each year importing vaccines from the Botswana Vaccine Institute, a practice he said does not guarantee security for Zimbabwe’s livestock sector.
“Especially in those red zones where our livestock interfaces with wildlife, you need to make sure that you vaccinate the cattle… it will actually then safeguard the industry, the beef industry as a whole,” he said.
He said the project’s main hurdle is mobilising capital and strengthening project documentation to meet investor requirements.
“We need to work on things like off-takers and guarantees to convince private capital to invest in the project through Private-Public partnerships.”
In 2022, the country announced that it was in the process of setting up a Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine manufacturing laboratory, a move that was expected to see the country save millions of United States dollars in reduced imports.
The biosafety level 3 facility will be situated at the SIRDC complex in Hatcliffe.
