Zambia mining investment arm in conjunction with China’s Sinoconst is set to construct a US$ 548m cement plant so as to help diversify the economy to reduce reliance on copper mining in the country.
President Edgar Lungu recently confirmed the reports and said that Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) and Sinoconst will raise financing for the project from local and international financial institutions.
“Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) and Sinoconst will come together and raise financing for the project from local and international financial institutions,” Lungu said.
Zambia’s is among the top African countries with the highest copper production and the industrial metal is the main foreign exchange earner and a key employer but it has been trying to diversify away from mining to insulate itself from commodity price shocks by investing in other areas including agriculture.
Also read:AfriSam commissions new cement plant in Lesotho
The new cement plant will be set up in Ndola in Zambia’s copperbelt, about 400 km north of Lusaka and is projected to be complete in the next three years and create roughly 1 000 jobs at construction stage.
“The copperbelt being a largely mining province and with the cyclical nature of this industry has affected job security and I believe this project could not have come at a better time,” Lungu concluded.
The plant is anticipated to have a daily output of approximately 5 000 t of cement and also have two 20 MW coal-fired power plants to provide electricity to the facility.
Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings is an investments holdings company with diversified interests in mining, energy and other sectors of the Zambian economy.
ZCCM-IH has its primary listing under ISIN number ZM0000000037 on the Lusaka Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the London Stock Exchange and the Euronext Stock Exchange in Paris.
