Published: 01 February 2018

GOVERNMENT needs about $5 billion to upgrade fuel and oxygen plants at Feruka with a view to increasing fuel production at the plant to about eight million litres per day.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira yesterday said Government was actively seeking investors to pour in the required funds to kick-start the project, which would be accorded national project status.

He was speaking during a familiarisation tour of the Verify Engineering oxygen plant at Feruka.

"What we did with this project was to upgrade its status so that it becomes a national project and also to upgrade its importance because we know the chemical industry is a big industry," said Prof Murwira.

"We, in the meantime, have been doing a lot to support the salaries of staff, but now we want to put the money for the plant as an incubation project.

"So, any investment has to be to that amount ($5 billion) for us to realise the full benefits of this project. However, it doesn't mean we have to have the $5 billion at once, it can build up to that over time."

Prof Murwira said Government had last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a foreign company that was interested in availing capital for the project. He could not disclose the name of the company, but confirmed that negotiations were at an advanced stage.

"For the oxygen plant, we also had a budget for it from Cabinet for it to start operations, but the big plant is the one we are working to raise capital for," he said.

Verify Engineering acting chief executive Engineer Pedzisai Tapfumanei said it was important for Zimbabwe to produce its own liquid fuels and chemicals since there were vast coal resources in the country to sustain such production.

"We have vast coal resources in Zimbabwe," he said.

"Now it is important that we beneficiate that resource. Sasol in South Africa has been doing it and they are now producing about 30 percent of national need of liquid fuels.

"Yet our national consumption of liquid fuels is less than that 30 percent being produced by Sasol."

The country needs between four million and five million litres of liquid fuels per day.

Verify Engineering's mandate is to implement the coal to liquid fuels project on behalf of Government.

Liquefaction is a scientific process of converting coal into various energy sources such as petrol, diesel and oxygen.

Once revived, the coal-to-diesel plant could help the country, a net fuel importer, to save scarce foreign currency.
- the herald

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