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Midlands Bureau
A SOUTH Africa-based company, Morning Trading, has expressed interest in setting up an asphalt plant in Gweru which will be a joint venture project with the Gweru City Council.

The firm has already partnered a local construction company, Tavaka Civil Engineers, in a project that is expected to create employment for the city.

Under the project, Morning Trading expressed interest in partnering the local authority in exploiting its quarry deposits on the outskirts of Gweru.

Company representatives last week met Gweru City Council management to formally express their business interests.

Tavaka Civil Engineers corporate services director, Mr Sabastian Mubvumbi, confirmed that his company had invited the South African investors to explore business opportunities in the country, particularly in Gweru because of the city’s geographical location.

“We are more than willing to invest in Gweru, ‘The City Of Progress’.”

We will establish an asphalt plant with a capacity to produce 80 tonnes of asphalt concrete per day.

We want to start production in the first quarter of 2019,” said Mr Mubvumbi

An asphalt plant produces asphalt, macadam and other forms of coated road-stones, sometimes collectively known as blacktop or asphalt concrete.

The plant manufactures hot asphalt paving mixtures, which is then transported to local construction sites where it is used to pave roads, parking lots, and airport runways.

The proposed investment comes at a time when the country has embarked on and lined up a number of road infrastructure projects.

Morning Trading executive director, Mr Mnqobi Nkomo, said the company was willing to comply with all the laws to do with the setting up of the plant.

“All the paperwork that council requested will be made available by next week. A local company will be tasked to carry out a feasibility study and avail the report so that we don’t lose on time,” he said.

The value of the proposed investment could not be immediately disclosed.

Government under its “Zimbabwe is open for business mantra” is going all out to attract investment in the different cities and towns as it works towards attaining an upper middle-income status by 2030.