By KENNEDY MUPESENI –

THE Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) will this year intensify infrastructure development at the facility to attract further investors.

And NRB Pharma Zambia Limited has started the construction of the two plants at the Lusaka South MFEZ.

Lusaka South MFEZ managing director Fortune Kamusaki said the developers would intensify construction activities at the MFEZ this year.

Mr Kamusaki said this when a Japanese trade and business delegation which included Japanese Ambassador to Zambia Kiyoshi Koinuma and Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industries in South Africa vice chairperson Hiroshi Okado toured the MFEZ last week.

“We want to intensify infrastructure developments such as water, power extension, road construction and many others to continue attracting investments at the MFEZ,” he said.

Mr Kamusaki said the idea was that the infrastructure development would be carried on at the same time allowing investors carrying on the construction of industries and production saying the Government was in a hurry to create employment.

Answering a question from Mr Koinuma, who wanted to know about the availability of power and water for the industries, Mr Kamusaki said the investors would be provided with over-head power and water from the boreholes.

He said Zesco would soon embark on the installation of power facility with a capacity of 130 megawatts which would be completed within 12 months.

Mr Kamusaki added NRB Pharma had started the construction of the two-plants which would be manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs like malaria and HIV-AIDS drugs.

He said the company had already employed more than 50 people and that once completed it would employ more than 110 people during production in November 2014.

The Lusaka South MFEZ last year signed a lease agreement with NRB Pharma Zambia for the establishment of the two pharmaceutical plants at the cost of US$10 million.