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Lungu unveils foundation stone for construction of ZCCM-IH Cement Plant in Ndola
President Edgar Lungu has unveiled the foundation stone for the construction of the US$548 million ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) cement plant in Ndola.
Speaking during the unveiling of the foundation stone and ground breaking ceremony today, President said increased investment in Zambia’s cement industry is key to creating competition in the market, thereby making cement more affordable to the majority.
He says government expects the prices of cement to drop further once the new cement plant comes on stream.
President Lungu says the new cement plant which will take three years to be completed and create 1,000 at construction stage, further contribute to poverty reduction in the area through job creation for the local people.
He has assured Ndola Lime Company and ZCCM-IH of government’s full support towards the success of the project which is a joint venture between ZCCM-IH and China’s Sinoconst.
The cement plant will have a daily production capacity of 5,000 metric tonnes of the commodity and will also have two coal fired thermal power plants to power the facility while surplus power be sold to ZESCO.
Meanwhile President Lungu has commissioned Neelkanth Cables Limited a company which has started adding value to copper through the production of cables and other accessories.
Speaking during the commissioning ceremony in Masaiti today, President Lungu says the project clearly underpins government’s policy on value addition of the abundant natural resources that Zambia is endowed with.
He says he’s pleased that the company has invested over US$14.5 million in the state of the art technology to produce PVC-Cable grade with a capacity of 600 metric tonnes per month, with a total installed capacity of copper rod production of 720 metric tonnes per month, while the installed capacity of power cable production is 1500 metric tonnes per month.
President Lungu has since urged other private sector companies to emulate Neelkanth Cables Limited by taking advantage of the conducive business environment to venture into value addition of the abundant mineral resources.