PPC not abandoning Bulawayo

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed cement manufacturer, PPC Zimbabwe, has discounted fears that it was planning to abandon the de-industrialising Bulawayo region after it announced plans to commission a new plant in Harare.

PPC Zimbabwe, a unit of South Africa's Pretoria Portland Cement, has operations in Colleen Bawn and Bulawayo.

It announced recently that it was building another plant in Harare, which would cater for the bigger northern region market. The Harare project is due for commissioning in the first quarter of 2016.

They have no intention of moving away from Matabeleland, PPC-Zimbabwe managing director, Njombo Lekula said.

In the (current) financial year, they will be spending about US$6,4 million for our two factories in Matabeleland on capital expenditure and that is Bulawayo and colleen Bawn factories.

So they are here to stay, he said.