Vedanta to ramp up Zambia ops: Chairman Anil Agarwal
12 April 2018 6:03 PM GMT
New Delhi: Anil Agarwal, the Chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc, on Thursday outlined a path to growth for the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a Zambian subsidiary of the diversified global mining and resources company. The Chairman also expressed confidence in what he sees as the start of an African economic resurgence driven by various metals.
Agarwal, who is on a two-day visit to Zambia, where he has attended the India-Zambia Business forum, said Vedanta was fully committed to supporting KCM's plans to increase production to 400,000 metric tonnes per annum in the next few years. The growth will be driven by an injection of $700 million, following Vedanta's previous injection of $300 million (comprising the $1 billion pledge of fresh investments made by Agarwal in 2017)
Speaking on the sidelines of the Zambia-India Business forum, the Chairman said that KCM will construct a new cobalt refinery, a coal-fired power plant, a training school for upskilling local talent and continue to invest in local communities in the areas of education, health, sport and poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods.
Agarwal commented: "I was eager to come to Zambia almost 15 years ago at a time when KCM was facing a lot of challenges. We have now created a strong position for KCM after investing over $3 billion. Last year I pledged to invest an extra $1 billion. We are targeting strong growth for KCM in the years ahead.
Agarwal said Zambia remains one of Africa's preferred investment destinations and that further improvements to investment climate, stability in the tax regime and affordable power would attract still more foreign direct investment to the country. Zambia has an excellent pool of talent, which Vedanta and KCM will continue to nurture.
Next Story
