BULAWAYO City Council has approved the production of cement by a Chinese investment company, Lebanmon Investment Private Limited, at Umvimila special economic zone.
Council chairperson of the finance and development committee Mpumelelo Moyo confirmed the development to NewsDay.
“We received an application from Lebanmon Investment Private Limited, a subsidiary of West International Holdings Limited, an international group integrating cement production and marketing in Africa and central Asian countries,” he said.
“We first of all approved it on September 26 as the finance and development committee after viewing it as a game changer in terms of economic development
Added Moyo: “The city is inviting more investors to Umvumila Industrial Park, which is a special economic zone with 188 hectares of virgin land.”
Once operational, the facility will produce 900 000 tonnes per year of cement, with plans to export to regional markets including Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique.
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The grinding plant was previously planned for Cowdray Park, also in Bulawayo, but the application was rejected in July 2024.
A council report reads: “The establishment of a cement mixing plant is expected to benefit Bulawayo Metropolitan province and other provinces in many ways, such as increased supply of cement, employment for more than 500 local people, increased export earnings for the province, enhanced technology and better equipment for the domestic cement industry in Zimbabwe.”