.Mwanakatwe

By HOPE BWALYA –

ZAMBIA attracted about US$3.2 billion from pledges from Chinese companies during President Edgar Lungu’s recent visit to China.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said the $3.2 billion pledges were from agreements and memoranda of understanding that were signed between Zambia and Chinese companies.
Ms Mwanakatwe said during a Press briefing that one of the developmental projects to be undertaken is a cable manufacturing company plant to be located at the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zones (MFEZ).
Ms Mwanakatwe said the project was an agreement between Dana Holdings of Zambia and Far East Cable Manufacturing Company Limited of China.
The Minister said another agreement that arose from the China trip was that  between Buffalo Consortium Limited of Zambia and Jidong Development Group Company Limited of China for the establishment of a cement plant in Lusaka.
The plant was at a cost of $420 million with a cement production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year which would be expected to create more than 500 jobs once completed.
Ms Mwanakatwe said another project to be under taken was the TAZARA-Mchinji railway that would cost about $350 and that pre-feasibility studies had already been done.
China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) limited, a state owned company, had expressed interest in the construction of the railway.
She mentioned that discussions were underway as many companies were eager to start working on the projects.
“These projects will start during the course of this year,” she said.
The Minister said her ministry was going to focus on following up and ensuring that the investors were supported  in settling up firms and to identify local entrepreneurs to partner with these Chinese companies so that job creation and industrialisation became a reality.