Zambia's state-owned investment platform ZCCM-IH and China's Wanfeng Group recently reached a cooperation agreement, jointly investing US$30 million to establish a joint venture, Ndola Lime Limited, to fully restart a 95-year-old integrated lime and cement production facility. This facility, which declared bankruptcy in 2018 due to operational difficulties, is being revitalized, injecting new life into existing local assets.

According to the equity arrangement, Wanfeng Group will contribute US$25 million in equity and a US$5 million shareholder loan, holding a total of 55% of the joint venture; ZCCM-IH will contribute existing operating assets and a US$9.8 million historical debt write-off, holding a 45% stake. The project will be implemented in three phases: Phase one involves the construction of a 600-ton-per-day lime production line; Phase two will involve adding a cement plant or expanding lime production capacity depending on market demand; and Phase three will involve further expansion based on market conditions.

Addressing Supply Shortages

Zambia's Copperbelt region is the core industrial and mining area of the country, with strong demand for basic raw materials such as lime and cement from mining, infrastructure, and agriculture sectors. Since the shutdown of established local production facilities, the market supply gap has continued to widen, leading to a high dependence on external imports. This has not only driven up the costs of mining and infrastructure development but also constrained the stable recovery of the regional industrial economy. This revitalization of outdated production capacity aims to quickly restore local self-sufficiency in raw materials and address the supply shortage of industrial raw materials in the copper belt region. Keywords: Zambia, asset-light investment, China-Africa production capacity cooperation

Asset-Light Entry into Africa

Wanfeng Group, primarily through capital injection without requiring heavy asset acquisitions, leverages the resource advantages and debt optimization of Zambia's state-owned platform to revitalize existing production capacity at low cost and high efficiency. For Zambia, the project will empower the synergistic development of mining, infrastructure, and agriculture; for Wanfeng Group, this move successfully positions it in Zambia's mining and industrial support sector, perfecting its regional industrial layout in Africa and deepening China-Africa industrial production capacity cooperation.Editor/Sunyaxin