News / National
Zimbabwe government grabs $600 million ethanol project
11 Jun 2012 at 15:47hrs | Views
THE ZIMBABWE government has taken over the US$600 million Green Fuel ethanol project in line with the country's economic empowerment laws, Agriculture Minister, Joseph Made has said.
Green Fuel was a joint venture between the state-run Arda and private local investors but Made claimed that the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement between them was "null and void".
"Cabinet concluded that the BOT agree­ment signed between Arda and Green Fuel and other partners was null and void as it has not been autho­rised by Government through Cab­inet," Made told the state controlled Herald newspaper.
Made said the government had taken over a 51 percent interest in the company with 10 percent being handed over to the local community while private investors would retain 39 percent.
But Arda chairman, Basil Nyabadza insisted that the BOT agreement was still binding.
"The board stands by its decision to engage a partner under a BOT arrangement. From inception up to now, every­thing has been done with full informa­tion being relayed to our parent Ministry on a weekly basis," he said.
Green Fuels officials were not immediately available for comment although the company has previously insisted that was already compliant with the indigenisation laws since the private investors were Zimbabwean.
"This is a National Project, spearheaded by Zimbabweans for fellow Zimbabweans," the company said in a recent statement.
Green Fuel was a joint venture between the state-run Arda and private local investors but Made claimed that the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement between them was "null and void".
"Cabinet concluded that the BOT agree­ment signed between Arda and Green Fuel and other partners was null and void as it has not been autho­rised by Government through Cab­inet," Made told the state controlled Herald newspaper.
Made said the government had taken over a 51 percent interest in the company with 10 percent being handed over to the local community while private investors would retain 39 percent.
"The board stands by its decision to engage a partner under a BOT arrangement. From inception up to now, every­thing has been done with full informa­tion being relayed to our parent Ministry on a weekly basis," he said.
Green Fuels officials were not immediately available for comment although the company has previously insisted that was already compliant with the indigenisation laws since the private investors were Zimbabwean.
"This is a National Project, spearheaded by Zimbabweans for fellow Zimbabweans," the company said in a recent statement.
Source - herald
