By CHATULA KANGALI –
ZAMBEZI Portland Cement will establish a five-megawatts (MW) solar farm in Ndola at a cost of US$7 million.
The cement manufacturing company will be the first on the Copperbelt Province to produce electricity using solar energy.
Operations director Daniele Ventriglia said in an interview that the cement company was diversifying to energy production.
Mr Ventgrilia said Zambezi Portland Cement was in the process of setting up a solar farm that would provide electricity to the community in Ndola.
He said the company had since submitted an Environment Project Plan (EPP) to the Zambian Environmental Management Authority (ZEMA) for consideration.
He said more than 200 locals were expected to be employed once completed.
“Solar energy is green energy and a very reliable source of energy. We decided to diversify our operations from cement to energy in order to complement the country with a reliable source of energy and create more jobs for the locals,” he said.
Meanwhile, the cement company has increased its production of cement to 1,800 tonnes a day from about 1,200.
Mr Ventriglia said the company had remained competitive in the cement business.
The cement manufacturing company also increased production of blocks in April from 8,000 to 15,000 tonnes per day following installation of new machinery at a cost of $2 million.
