ZAMBIA: Japanese company, Hitachi Construction Machinery, start the building of a new factory in Lusaka

Record ID: 465680

  • Title: ZAMBIA: Japanese company, Hitachi Construction Machinery, start the building of a new factory in Lusaka
  • Date: 3rd June 2011
  • Summary: LUSAKA, ZAMBIA (JUNE 02, 2011) (REUTERS) BILLBOARD READING:HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY ZAMBIA AERIAL VIEW OF SITE AFTER CONSTRUCTION ZAMBIAN AND JAPANESE FLAGS ON HITACHI MACHINERY ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT, RUPIAH BANDA AND JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO ZAMBIA, AKIO EGAWA, UNVEILING THE PLAGUE BANDA AND EGAWA SHAKING HANDS HITACHI VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE OFFICER, YUKIO ARIMA, HANDS OVER MODEL OF MACHINERY TO BANDA / CLAPPING PLAQUE VARIOUS OF CRANE BANDA, ZAMBIAN OFFICIALS AND JAPANESE OFFICIALS SEATED ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (English) RUPIAH BANDA, ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT SAYING: "If this projects succeeds, the company shall undertake an expansion programme that will extend their services to other major industrial entities in the region." AUDIENCE LOOKING ON (SOUNDBITE) (English) AKIO EGAWA, JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO ZAMBIA SAYING: "Our government set a goal to double Japanese private sector investment to Africa by the year 2012 together with a pledge to double official development assistance to Africa by 2012." VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION SITE
  • Embargoed: 18th June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Zambia, Zambia
  • Country: Zambia
  • Topics: Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVA5B8EYH6WCCX2HVH8GVGX9UZPM
  • Story Text: Zambia commissioned on Thursday (June 02) the construction phase of Japanese company, Hitachi Construction Machinery Zambia Limited in the capital Lusaka with an initial 15 million US dollars capital investment.
    Hitachi is one of the world's largest manufacturers of construction, mining and earthmoving equipment.
    This is the first ever investment into the manufacturing sector by a Japanese company.
    Zambian president, Rupiah Banda who was on hand to launch the project said that he hopes this could lead to more Japanese firms investing in the country and helping Zambia to stay on course to become the economic hub of southern Africa.
    "If this projects succeeds, the company shall undertake an expansion programme that will extend their services to other major industrial entities in the region," Banda said in his speech.
    Japan is one of Zambia's largest cooperating partners and Hitachi's investment will also strengthen the two countries' relations and create jobs.
    "Our government set a goal to double Japanese private sector investment to Africa by the year 2012 together with a pledge to double official development assistance to Africa by 2012," said Akio Egawa, Japan's ambassador to Zambia.
    Egawa also added that Japan's private investment in Africa in 2009 was at 4.2 billion US dollars, exceeding the targeted 3.4 billion dollars through 2012.
    Hitachi also expressed an interests in investing more in the mining sector in Zambia and has already provided 400 machines to the Lumwana copper Mines, and will start providing servicing to those machines.
    Zambia, which is Africa's top copper producer has huge potential with its vast high-grade reserves of the metal used in power and contraction, with output expected to more than double to around 2.0 million tonnes by 2015.
    Hitachi was first introduced in Africa in 1963. It constructed a Hitachi Construction Machinery Southern Africa Company Limited in 1998, which covers the Southern part of Africa and also operates in 12 other African countries.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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