THE Manhize Dinson Iron and Steel Project stands out as one of the success stories of the National Development Strategy One (NDS1) industrialisation drive, with focus on mineral beneficiation and processing of raw materials locally as opposed to exporting unprocessed commodities.
The first phase of the Manhize steel project is already in full motion, with production of rebars, steel billets, and pig iron currently underway.
The project which directly addresses Priority Area 3 of the NDS1, that of Moving the Economy up the Value Chains and Structural Transformation, attracted the attention of the African Peer Review Mechanism Delegation which was recently in the country.
“We started producing pig iron and steel billets in June last year. So far, we are now doing further production of pig iron to produce what are called rebars of different sizes. We are also further processing the pig iron to produce the wore rods. So, this is our first phase which we can say we are at 98 percent,” DISCO’s Project Director, Mr Wilfred Motsi noted.
The success of the project is also anchored on pillars of value addition and beneficiation enshrined in NDS1.
“These are local resources that we are adding value to in line with our motto that we need to value add and beneficiate the natural resources that we have. It is also government policy that we must increase local production because for us to increase export, we must increase our production and productivity. There is a continuous growth of the production sector as most of the products here are for export,” APRM focal Person for Zimbabwe, Ambassador Albert Chimbindi said.
Beyond import substitution, the surplus production is for export, contributing directly to the NDS1 objective of increasing export earnings and stabilising that balance of payments.
“Zimbabwe is proud of having such a project which is not only for Zimbabwe, but the rest of Africa. It serves every aspect of our development in various fields such as railway. Any development project requires iron and steel,” APRM’s Lead Council Member for Zimbabwe, Ambassador Aly El Hefney stated.
At full capacity, the Manhize Dinson Iron and Steel Project is expected to contribute about US$5 billion to the national economy. – ZBC
