Friday, March 29, 2024

Chambishi Economic Zone to attract $800 million in investment

Share

President Mwanawasa says the Chambishi Multi-facility Economic Zone (MSEZ) which is currently under development is expected to attract more than $800 million in investment from China alone.

Dr. Mwanawasa says the zone will be a place where value additions will be championed which all mining sectors should urgently implement.

Dr. Mwanawasa said this in a speech read on his behalf by vice president Rupiah Banda during the official opening of the Copperbelt Mining, Agriculture and Commercial Show in Kitwe today.

President Mwanawasa said addition of value to minerals such as copper will create more jobs for Zambians and minimize exposure to risks such as down-turn in the prices of minerals.

Dr Mwanawasa said a recent study to determine the market potential for various metal alloys within Zambia, SADC and COMESA revealed that the manufacturing sector is utilizing six percent of the copper produced in the country while the rest of the copper refined and non refined is exported unprocessed, a scenario he said is unacceptable.

Dr Mwanawasa said government therefore plans to see to it that value addition to minerals and other raw materials takes root in Zambia as quickly as possible.

Dr. Mwanawasa said that the Copperbelt province should also encourage other sectors such as agriculture as minerals were a wasting asset.

President Mwanawasa said he was pleased that farmers have managed to produce a total of 1,211, 566 metric tonnes of maize and a surplus of 143,000 metric tonnes of maize.

Dr. Mwanawasa has since urged farmers to make sure that they safely store enough of the farm produce for household consumption and for sale.

He also encouraged farmers to engage in production throughout the year without necessarily depending on rains.

On the livestock industry, Dr. Mwanawasa noted that the industry has continued to be hit by annual diseases which are threatening the agriculture sector.

Dr. Mwanawasa said in order to develop the livestock sub sector, government has continued with the cattle restocking and stocking to improve the livestock population.

He said that disease surveillances are also being undertaken to prevent the spread of annual diseases.

President Mwanawasa said government is also pushing hard on the completion of farming blocks so as to open up new land for agricultural purposes.

On the Kitwe shopping mall project, Dr. Mwanawasa announced that the project has reached the final approval stage.

President Mwanawasa said the mall which will include a service station, shops and restaurants, will be the biggest shopping mall in Zambia covering a space of 26,000 square meters.

He said the facility will greatly benefit Kitwe and the Copperbelt and other surrounding areas.

Speaking earlier, Copperbelt Minister Mwansa Mbulakulima said the Copperbelt has embarked on a robust diversification program towards food production.

He explained that the move is in realization that minerals are wasting assets.

At the same function, Mines Minister Kalombo Mwansa said the new tax regime is aimed at making companies operate viably while contributing slightly more to the national coffers.

Dr. Mwansa also urged Zambians to take advantage of small scale mining as the sector has by law been exclusively reserved for Zambians.

And Copperbelt Mining Agriculture Show Society Chairperson Bill Osborne applauded government for striving to keep the inflation rate at single digit.

He said this is testimony of government’s prudent fiscal management.

He further said it was also encouraging to note that bank interest rates were also the decline.

4 COMMENTS

  1. It is quite encouraging to read about huge figures in “perceived” foreign direct investment to Zambia. While we welcome these figures, we also are very sceptical about the genuineness of this sort of investment in one sector. It is also very surprising that the each time there are cheap investment promises, the Zambian government quickly finds a formula that calculates the number of jobs to be created before even a penny is spent. We have heard about these “new jobs” being created on paper but our people do get them. For whom do these investments create employment because we know its not Zambians. Best of luck to Zambia may be this time it will be Zambians.

  2. what about the taxes these china men will be paying.cosidering they are pouring millions of dollars into the country,am curious how much tax they’ll be charged,if any.zambians love shortcuts,i cant help but think that somewere there is a loophole in this case

  3. Good job. Let us also see good infrastructure commensurate to this kind of investment. We have lagged behind in infrastructure and road network.

  4. Three words about $800 million that is to be attracted to the Chimibish Multi-facility Economic Zone:

    On. What. Terms.

    If they are going to be like the development agreements, let the ‘investors’ keep their money at home.

    And it must be remembered also that investors want to see a return on their investment. If they put in $800mn, it is only because they plan on taking a multiple of that out of the country.

    It is time there was a government that stopped worshipping foreign investors, and started to put it’s own house in order and enable Zambian entrepreneurs and workers.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading