Zimpapers Logo

Thupeyo Muleya,Beitbridge Bureau

SCHWEPPES Zimbabwe Limited has set plans in motion to establish a citrus greenfield that will be irrigated by water from the Zhovhe Dam, as the company seek to increase the oranges feedstock for the Beitbridge Juice Plant.

In an interview the organisation’s managing director Mr Charles Msipa said the company was now courting investment for US$20 million capital.

He said it is expected that the money will be available by the end of the year to start land preparation on part of the 4 000 hectares and set up irrigation and relevant infrastructure.

Mr Msipa said the project will start with 700 hectares being planted in February 2024.
“We are completing the business case as well as capital raise phase and are targeting a plantation of between 500 and 700 hectares in size,” he said.

“We are looking at initial fundraising of about US$20 million, which we will have completed at the end of this year

The plan is that in 2023, we start with clearing the ground and layout and design and the relevant infrastructure. We expect to have a greenfield of 4 000 hectares. We hope that the first planting will be in February 2024”.

Mr Msipa said Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited has been having consultations and engagements with communities around the area where they intend to set up the citrus greenfield plantation.
This, he said, was being done so that they establish the project with a common understanding that citrus production is an all-inclusive business.

Mr Charles Msipa

The organisation has a number of community social responsibility projects around the area.
“We have decided to have the citrus greenfield to increase the quantities of oranges we process at the Beitbridge Juice Plant (BBJ),” said Mr Msipa.

“The plant has the capacity to produce 40  000 tonnes of oranges into various by-products each season.

This year, we will process 25 000 tonnes and it is very critical that we increase the feedstock”.

He said to enhance development in Beitbridge, a portion of the citrus greenfield will be reserved for use by community members supported by Schweppes.

The citrus project is also expected to come with significantly increased programmes that include producing more fruits for processing various products for the local and export markets.

Mr Msipa said the company had already constructed a 500 KVA mini-solar power plant to boost electricity supplies at the Beitbridge Juice Processing plant.

“We also have a 500kva solar plant that was installed and commissioned in 2021. It eases the power supply burden for our plant and the national grid,” he said.  – @tupeyo