Chinese-owned cement plant opens in Mozambique

President Filipe Nyusi has presided over the ceremonial opening of the Cimentos de Maiaia cement plant in Nacala, in the northeastern Mozambican province of Nampula, AIM reports.

The Mozambican state-run news agency says the plant cost US$10.28 million, and that Chinese investors contributed 85 per cent of the money.

The report quotes Mr Nyusi as saying the new plant is a sign that investors are still confident about Mozambique, despite the Mozambican public-sector debt.

The president expressed hope that the output of Cimentos de Maiaia will reduce the retail price of cement – which is a big cause of grumbling among the people of Nampula.

The cement plant took nearly two years to build; employs 60 people, 48 of them local people; and has the capacity to produce 250,000 tonnes of cement a year, AIM says.