India has invested US$2bn in Zambia, says envoy
India has invested US$2bn in Zambia, says envoyBy Noel Sichalwe
Saturday August 16, 2008 [04:00]
ACTING Indian High Commissioner Oscar Kerketta yesterday said India has an average investment of about US $2 billion in Zambia. Speaking during India's 62nd Independence anniversary, Kerketta said Indian nationals and companies had invested in various sectors of the economy in Zambia.
"There has also been renewed interest in Indian private business in Zambia," he said.
Kerketta said Zambia's request for the credit line of US $50 million to partly finance the US $200 million Itezhi-tezhi Hydro Power project was receiving attention by the Indian government and that they were expecting it to be approved soon.
He also said Zambia last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Pan African E-networking project worth about US $60 million, which would be fully funded by India.
Kerketta said the project would provide video conferencing facilities to the entire Africa, tele-education and telemedicine facilities linking them to universities and hospitals in all the 53 countries in Africa.
He said so far, 29 African countries had signed the MoU and that work had already started for Zambia. He further said they were about to implement the US $60,000 Hole in the Wall computer project, fully funded by India, to establish two public computer learning kiosks in two schools in Lusaka.
Kerketta said the equipment had already arrived and was being installed. He said Tata in July this year signed an MoU with Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) for the acquisition of Kabwe Tannery to help the Zambian economy at the grass-roots level.
He further said Shree Renuka Sugars Limited of Mumbai had signed an MoU with Zambian entrepreneurs to set up a sugar plantation and sugar mill in Mazabuka with a proposed investment of about US $200 million.
Kerketta said India had this year given a credit line of about US $30 million to Malawi for irrigation, grain storage, tobacco threshing and one village project.
"Whatever I have said so far shall prove that when we say that India is committed to its relations with Zambia, we are not only giving it a lip-service. India is actually dirtying up its hands in Zambia," he said.
Kerketta said he was also happy with the role that Indian charitable institutions were playing in Zambia to uplift the living standards of the people. He was further happy that India had contributed money to mitigate the floods that occurred this year in Zambia.
Kerketta also cited the India-Africa forum which was held in New Delhi early this year as having given a new thrust to India's engagement with Africa.
Labels: INDIA, INVESTMENT
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