Mozambican president inaugurates production lines for Chinese-invested heavy sands project

MAPUTO, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi inaugurated Friday two production lines for the heavy sands investment made by the Chinese company Ding Sheng Minerals in the Chibuto district in Mozambique's southern province of Gaza.

With the official kick-off of the two new production lines on top of the old production lines, Ding Sheng Minerals has reached a production capacity of more than 1.8 million tonnes of titanium and zirconium ore products per year, according to the representative of the company, Lin Wenwen.

At the ceremony, Nyusi saw the mineral sand samples on display and visited the production facilities at one of the mining sites.

In his following speech, Nyusi congratulated the successful operation of the project and said the measures taken by the company to protect the environment in the mining area and benefit the local communities were commendable. He was referring to the re-settlement houses and the water processing center that could provide tap water for 200,000 residents, among other facilities that were built by the company.

"We are sure that due to the magnitude of this venture, the Chibuto region will become a development hub with the infrastructure to be developed for other economic activities in the chain of operations and logistics of heavy sands projects," said the president.

He said the project created some 3,000 jobs for Mozambican and foreign workers during its construction process while expressing thanks to China for bringing investments to his country.

The president highlighted that Mozambique has rich and diverse mineral resources and that together with other projects in the extractive sector, the Chibuto project will contribute to state coffer and the growth of the gross domestic product.

"We've been working together with the Chinese government to see if we can mobilize more investors for the Chibuto area, which in the future will be an excellent industrial center," said Nyusi.

In his speech at the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique Wang Hejun said the project will further promote the effective utilization of local resources, and help Mozambique transform its superior resource endowment into a real driving force for economic growth.

"I believe that under the leadership of our heads of state and through the joint efforts of our governments and peoples, the practical cooperation between China and Mozambique in various fields will surely make a greater contribution to the economic and social development of the two countries and the continuous improvement of people's well-being," said the ambassador.