27 Sep 2015

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Vincent Seretse, appreciates establishment of the P10.8 million Agro-Processing Plant and Pula Steel Plant projects in Selebi Phikwe.  

Such projects, Mr Seretse said, would impact not only on the Selebi Phikwe region economic diversification drive but Botswana as a whole.  

He said this at the tour of the facilities on Thursday September 23. Minister Seretse said projects would also attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).  

The Agro-Processing Plant, he said, would be used to produce tomato sauce, canned vegetables, among others, which would in turn reduce importing such products as well as the country’s import bill, which he said stood at P68 million.  

Furthermor, he indicated that at least 250 jobs would be created for Batswana and also reduce poverty levels once fully operational.   Minister Seretse said the processing plant would help develop and grow the agriculture sector and motivate farmers to produce more because a market for their produce would already be available.  

Meanwhile, in an interview, Mr Lovemore Marere from National Food Technology Research Centre (NFRTC), which is pioneering the Agro Processing Plant project, acknowledged arrival of equipment at the plant.

Mr Marere said despite lagging behind in site preparation, assembling of equipment was 90 per cent complete.   He said they would have tested the equipment at the plant by the end of this month.

“We will be running the machines, checking out if the processing of material is taking place accordingly. After which we will evaluate performance of the plant to establish if it reaches the capability it is intended for. Commercial operation of the plant is expected to start this December,” he said.  

Furthermore, he said the plant, once in full swing, would have capacity to process 500 kilogrammes of tomatoes as well as 1 000kg of other vegetables per hour.  

On one hand, Mr Brian Mosenene said the Pula Steel plant, which will be producing steel products, was expected to create over 160 jobs.   Mr Mosenene added that the plant, once fully operational in March next year, would produce 240 tonnes of steel per day.

He said goods would be exported to countries such South Africa, Zambia, Dubai and India, among others. Notwithstanding, Mr Mosenene remained optimistic that the plant would be commissioned by December this year. ENDS