The Industrial Development Corporation has announced that it has successfully achieved key milestones on some of its Greenfield initiatives in 2019.
Hosting the annual CEOs conference in Livingstone which attracted all the CEOs, CFOs, Company Secretaries and Board Chairpersons of the subsidiary companies, IDC’s Acting Chairperson for the Investments Committee of the board, Geoffrey Sikulanda indicated that achieving these milestones was through dividends.
“The implementation of greenfield projects depends on financial resources mobilised from streams of dividend revenue”, read an extract from Geoffrey’s speech. “Therefore the IDC is mindful that transforming the existing portfolio is an imperative to the success of our investment agenda”.
Some of the milestones attained in the past year with respect to the IDC’s greenfield portfolio include:
1. The Bang weulu Solar Power Plant and the Ngonye Solar Plant which commenced commercial operations in March 2019 and May 2019, respectively. Currently, the projects are contributing about 90MW to the national grid.
2. The Agro Integrated Agriculture Development Project, based on the Copperbelt, and extending over 7,700 Hectares. IDC completed the first phase and are now focussing on bulk infrastructure of roads, family farms, private farm units, greenhouses, centre pivot and drip irrigation systems, logistics, bulking, processing as well as distribution elements. This project is expected to create in excess of 4,000 jobs from development to operations and is poised to transform the agricultural landscape on the Copperbelt Province.
3. Works have commenced at our fruit processing plants Katete and Mwinilunga districts. The equipment has been procured and installation is expected in the first quarter of 2020. By the time we meet next year, the people in Northwestern and Eastern province will have their own fruit processing plants. These two projects will provide ready market farmers for their produce and incentivise higher levels of productivity leading to the creation of new jobs and uplifting the socialeconomic status of rural households; and I
4. In Mongu Western Province working with ZAFFICO, over 103 Hectares of cashew has been planted and 500 Hectares earmarked for the coming season. The total plantation extent is 25,000 Hectares.
5. This IDC acquired Mununshi Banana Estate and the development of the estate will develop in 2020.