AfDB backs Chimhandamba titanium deal
The African Development Bank approved $75 million to finance a titanium dioxide plant in South Africa led by Zimbabwean businessman Donovan Chimhandamba. The facility will process 80,000 tonnes annually at Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone and aims to reduce regional dependence on imported pigments used in paints, cosmetics and food products.
Chimhandamba heads Nyanza Light Metals, which received $25 million through the Africa Growing Together Fund, a partnership between the bank and the People’s Bank of China. The Africa Finance Corporation and African Export-Import Bank arranged additional syndicated financing for the project.
The construction project is expected to create more than 2,400 jobs, with 30 percent of the positions reserved for women and youth. Operations will employ 850 workers with targets of 45 percent women, 30 percent youth and 20 percent from low-income backgrounds.
Bank Vice President Solomon Quaynor stated that the investment supports mineral processing rather than exporting raw materials while importing finished goods. Chimhandamba previously led a consortium awarded a $400 million contract to revive the National Railways of Zimbabwe that failed to proceed.
