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President Hakainde Hichilema has announced that approximately US$12.2 billion worth of investment out of the total recorded pledges of about US$86.2 billion has been secured since 2021.
President Hichilema said this had resulted in the creation of about 68,072 jobs across 567 companies in various sectors, including mining, manufacturing, transport, and agriculture.
The Head of Stated said this in a speech read on his behalf by Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister, Chipoka Mulenga, during the Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) Trade Facilitation Conference held at Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka on Thursday.
The ZAM Trade Facilitation Conference was held under the theme: “AfCFTA in Motion: Positioning Land-Linked Zambia as Africa’s Trade and Manufacturing Hub.”
He stated that the achievements were a testament to government’s policies and key reforms, which provide incentives for expansion projects
“Let me highlight some of the key greenfield and brownfield investments recorded in the manufacturing sector since 2021: United Capital Fertiliser expansion programme with an investment of US$898 million which has created about 10,000 jobs and is now a regional Fertiliser supply,” President Hichilema said.
Additionally, the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia which is an investment of about US$6million has created about 150 jobs and the PDV METALS with an investment of US$100 in a statement of the art steel production facility, creating 500 jobs, he said.
He also highlighted several investments such as the Sinovolt Batteries in Mnasa, Trade Kings Group, Chilanga Cement Expansion, Yash Expansion project, and Pharmanova Zambia.
President Hichilema stated that the investments being made in the pharmaceutical sector had enabled Zambia to be drug secure.
“In the past four years, we have seen the establishment of new cable manufacturing companies, which aligns well with our aspirations to have growing processing capacity and increase Copper production to 3 million tons by 2031,” he said.
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Hichilema noted that Zambian Breweries PLC had invested US$ 8 million to expand its Lusaka plant investing and created over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.
He said these investments would require securing markets beyond the domestic market and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which encompasses about 1.4 billion people with a combind GDP of approximately $3.4trillion.
“Zambia completed the domestication process of the AfCFTAagreements in December 2024 and is now prepared to commence trading under the guided trade initiative even though intra-Africantraderemains low,” President Hichilema stated.
He encouraged the private sector to seize the opportunity that lies under the AfCFTA and grow their market base following the conclusion of the domestication process.
Meanwhile, German Deputy Ambassador to Zambia, Andreas Pletziger commended ZAM for convening the conference, noting its critical role in highlighting the importance of strategically positioning Zambia in the AfCFTA market to unlock maximum benefits.
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