The move will turn Tanzania into a hub of manufacturing similar construction equipment in the region, according to Former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi.
Dar es Salaam. A Chinese company, Avic Shantui Tanzania Limited, will now start distributing all its product ranges right from the soils of Tanzania as it promises to start producing the same locally using reserves of iron ore discovered at Liganga in the southern highlands.
The move will turn Tanzania into a hub of manufacturing similar construction equipment in the region, according to Former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi.
Avic-Shantui Tanzania Limited will start with distribution of heavy duty machinery and building equipment but with time, the company, based at the Benjamin William Mkapa Export Processing Zone (EPZ), will start assembling and manufacturing the same by exploiting the iron ore reserves found at Liganga.
“Basing on the report that in future the Chinese investors want to build a factory for manufacturing heavy duty machineries from iron ore discovered in the country, it is good news that the country will be the main centre for manufacturing and distributing of these construction equipment in Africa,” said former President Mwinyi.
According to him, among the products set for local distribution and export to the neighbouring countries under Shantui brand include; bulldozers, caterpillars, graders, pipe layers, excavators, road rollers, land fall compactors, pavers, concrete tracks mixers and concrete pump mixers.
Earlier, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mr Uledi Musa, said that the company would also serve Tanzania’s landlocked neighbours.
For his part, the commercial representative at the Chinese Embassy in the country, Mr Lin Zhiyong, said that Tanzania had been chosen as a pilot country under the umbrella of Chinese capacity transfer to Africa.
“China values the economic co-operation with Tanzania. In recent years, Chinese investments in Tanzania have been growing rapidly to reach $4 billion in total,” said Mr Zhiyong.
The Vice President of Avic International Beijing, Mr Wang Guangjun said that the company, which had also formed a joint venture with Shantui in Kenya in 2011, recorded a turnover of $20 million last year.
EPZA Director General Joseph Simbakalia said that the launch of the firm should be taken as an opportunity for absorbing Chinese science and technology necessary for unlocking the existing economic potentials.
