Tongaat reaffirms commitment to $1bn cane project

TONGAAT HULETT ZIMBABWE (THZ) has re-affirmed its commitment to the $1 billion Kilimanjaro Sugar Cane Project in Chiredzi, with the firm and some local banks investing more than $320 million.

The project has been stalled by the lockdown announced by Government to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Work is expected to resume after the lockdown period.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, about 420 hectares of approximately 2 700 hectares of virgin land had been put under cane.

The area under cane is being maintained by Tongaat, with the crop in good condition.

Initial projections set September this year as the month by which the 3 300ha of virgin land would have been put under cane.

Tongaat, together with local financial institutions CBZ, CABS, ZB Bank and FBC, are financing the project, which seeks to empower Zimbabweans as outgrower farmers and also ramp up aggregate sugar and ethanol output and help grow the economy in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision to make Zimbabwe an upper middle income country by 2030.

Chief executive Mr Aiden Mhere yesterday said it was no longer possible to complete the project by the scheduled date.

“We remain committed to finishing the Kilimanjaro Project and contribute to Zimbabwe’s economic growth, but we have been affected by the Covid-19 lockdown, which forced us to halt operations in line with measures announced by Government to stop the spread of the virus,” said Mr Mhere.