Source: Mutoko project to cut crude oil bill by US$300m – herald
President Mnangagwa
Debra Matabvu and Precious Manomano
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is set to commission the Finealt Bioeconomy Industrial Park in Mutoko this week, marking a major milestone in the Government’s drive to accelerate rural industrialisation, promote value addition and beneficiation and unlock sustainable economic opportunities for local communities.
The commissioning also marks one of the earliest flagship projects under National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which identifies rural industrialisation, value addition and beneficiation as central pillars in transforming Zimbabwe from a primary commodity-based economy into a diversified manufacturing and export-oriented economy by 2030.
The industrial park project, being set up by Finealt Engineering — an agency under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development — is an integrated industrial hub producing biodiesel, cooking oil and soap, with a stock feed plant to be added later.
The industrial park will utilise locally-available natural resources and by-products predominantly found in Mashonaland East Province, creating value-added products, while enhancing community participation in the provincial economy.
The project aligns with the NDS2, which states that: “During NDS2, Government will prioritise the transformation of the agricultural sector into a competitive, export-oriented and value-driven industry that anchors rural industrialisation and growth in trade.”
In an interview, Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Permanent Secretary Professor Fanuel Tagwira said the project is a practical demonstration of the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 philosophy, which seeks to harness Zimbabwe’s indigenous resources, knowledge and innovation to drive industrialisation, economic growth and national development.
“This is a very important project which answers to Heritage-Based Education 5.0,” Professor Tagwira said. “It also answers the call for rural industrialisation of our economy.
“The first of its kind is being rolled out by the Ministry of Higher Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development using one of its entities called Finealt Engineering. Within the industrial park, we have a biodiesel plant, we have a cooking oil plant, we have a soap plant and we will later on have a stock feed plant. So, the idea is that within the biological resources that are found in Mashonaland East, we are trying to unlock value for the benefit of the communities and also create jobs.
“At least 20 000 households in Mashonaland East are going to be contracted to grow sunflowers to support the plant. Additionally, there will be staff working in the plant processing the product, and so there will be a lot of jobs that will be created.”
Professor Tagwira said beyond creating employment and promoting value addition, the industrial park would significantly reduce Zimbabwe’s dependence on imported edible oils while saving scarce foreign currency.
He said the integrated processing model was expected to cut the country’s annual cooking oil import bill by more than US$300 million through full utilisation of the sunflower value chain.
“Zimbabwe spends US$300 million annually importing crude oil and then we refine this crude oil into cooking oil. Whereas this plant is going to make the whole value chain of seeds is exploited,” he said.
“The 20 000 households in Mashonaland East who are going to supply the seeds, which will be processed into cooking oil. Out of that we are going to get stock feed.
“So we are trying to cut the US$300 million import bill and save foreign currency.
“If we can cut the US$300 million, create jobs in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors as well as get stock feed, that is a bigger benefit. If we can then export it will still be fine.”
The biodiesel processing plant is expected to produce 22 000 litres of biodiesel per day, while the cooking oil processing plant will have the capacity to process 6 000 tonnes of sunflower seed annually. The industrial park will also house a soap manufacturing plant producing bar soap, tablets and detergents, while a livestock feed plant will be added in a later phase.
Professor Tagwira said the Industrial Park would serve as a pilot project, with the model set to be replicated across the country’s provinces to harness locally available resources, promote value addition and beneficiation, and drive inclusive rural industrialisation based on each region’s comparative advantages.
The industrial park, Professor Tagwira added, would serve as a model demonstrating how universities and polytechnics can support President Mnangagwa’s rural industrialisation agenda through the implementation of Heritage-Based Education 5.0 by transforming local resources into value-added products.
“It is a model to show what universities and polytechnics can do to support the rural industrialisation agenda of His Excellency as part of Heritage-Based Education 5.0,” he added.
“All the infrastructure on that site was put up by our polytechnics as well as the machinery was installed by our polytechnics.
“The conceptualisation of the innovations that you will find in the industrial park also came out of our institutions.
“Once we have done this project and it has succeeded, our aim is to cascade it to other provinces, but using the natural endowments that are found in those provinces.”
Professor Tagwira said the commissioning is expected to attract at least 50 000 people from across Mashonaland East Province.
He said the Finealt Bioeconomy Industrial Park builds on the innovation parks established at the country’s universities, extending the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 model beyond academic institutions into rural communities to promote value addition, industrialisation and sustainable economic development.
Uplifting the local community
Professor Tagwira said local residents were trained in various construction trades, including bricklaying and plumbing, during the development of the industrial park.
“We also took people from the local community and trained them. Builders, plumbers and other artisans have been trained while these buildings were being constructed. Some of them will be assessed and receive recognised qualifications, giving them skills they can use beyond this project,” he said.
The Mutoko Bioeconomy Industrial Park is expected to serve as a blueprint for similar rural industrial hubs across Zimbabwe, supporting the Government’s vision of decentralised industrial development, employment creation, import substitution, value addition and inclusive economic growth through innovation.
Finealt Engineering Acting Chief Executive Officer Patrick Mpala said the three plants had been designed as an integrated manufacturing system, allowing by-products from one process to become raw materials for another.
“The biodiesel plant, soap-making plant and cooking oil plant are all integrated,” he said.
“The cooking oil plant produces what is called soap stock, which becomes raw material for the soap plant, while the biodiesel plant produces glycerine, which is also used in soap manufacturing. These three plants work together to produce different varieties of bioeconomy goods and services.”
Mr Mpala said the cooking oil plant has the capacity to process 20 tonnes of sunflower seed per day, producing about 5 000 litres of Biofine cooking oil for the local market.
The soap manufacturing plant can produce 4 000 small bars of soap every hour and another 2 000 larger lavender soap bars per hour, while the biodiesel plant has been upgraded from a capacity of 3 000 litres to 27 000 litres per day.
“We have upgraded from 3 000 litres to 27 000 litres per day. The challenge we may have now is feedstock, but that is something we are going to work on by improving feedstock production within the community,” said Mr Mpala.
He said the next phase of the project would include stockfeed production using sunflower cake, a by-product of cooking oil extraction, as well as mealie-meal processing.
“When we grind our sunflower, there is cake that is left. We are going to turn that into feedstock for animals and chickens,” he said.
The post Mutoko project to cut crude oil bill by US$300m appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.
