Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu launches construction of multiple milling plants

Zambia has launched the construction of China-aided milling plants that are likely to highly improve food supply and increase local employment in the African country.

President of Zambia, Edgar Lungu has flagged off the starting of the construction of 13 milling plants in various districts across the country under the presidential milling plants initiative. According to Zambia’s Head of State, this is a great milestone in the actualization of the Patriotic Front government’s pro-poor policy aimed at ensuring that the lives of the majority of Zambians in the rural areas are bearable.

The three milling plants are located respectively in Monze district in Southern Province, Mpika district in Muchinga Province and Chongwe district, about 31 kilometres east of Lusaka. According to Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony in Chongwe, two of the milling plants will each have a daily processing capacity of 240 tons while the third one will be built as a "demonstration plant" at the China-aided Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center in the Zambian capital of Lusaka.

The demonstration plant will train about 200 local technicians per year with a daily processing capacity of 40 tons, the Chinese envoy added. The Chinese envoy said the successful launch of the project was not only a reflection of traditional friendship between the two countries but also another achievement of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Attending the ceremony with the Chinese ambassador, Zambian President Edgar Lungu said it was comforting for Zambia to have an all-weather friend like China and called for continuation of the friendship for the good of peoples of the two countries, as reported by Xinhua.

He said under phase one of this project, three milling plants will be constructed including the one to be put up at the University of Zambia agricultural technology demonstration centre. President Edgar Lungu said the other two have been earmarked for Monze district in southern province and Mpika district in Muchinga province, Lusaka Times noted.

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