Zimbabwe is quietly rewriting its industrial story, one cement bag at a time. With production capacity swelling and fresh capital being poured into domestic plants, the country is now edging closer to eliminating cement imports altogether, a milestone that signals both economic confidence and strategic policy alignment.
In Chegutu, the hum of machinery and the rhythm of construction have become more than just background noise. They are the soundtracks of economic transformation. At the heart of this activity is Shungai Investment, a Chinese firm investing US$70 million into a state-of-the-art cement plant, which is expected to be operational by January next year. Once complete, the facility will churn out 800,000 tonnes of cement annually, a major boost for national infrastructure development and import substitution.
This is no ordinary plant. As confirmed by Mr Yan Bo, the Administration Manager for Shuntai Investments (Pvt) Ltd, the Chegutu project is deploying technologically advanced machines and relying primarily on locally sourced raw materials. The result, he argues, will be a significantly lower production cost, which should translate to more affordable cement for Zimbabwean consumers. But the price tag is only part of the story. Already, over 300 youths from Chegutu have found employment at the plant. Nationwide, the broader investment plans by Shungai are projected to create as many as 4,000 jobs, a clear win for employment creation and skills development.
At a time when global economic uncertainty continues to rattle many developing countries, Zimbabwe’s growing self-reliance in cement production reflects a deeper shift, from extractive economic participation to value-added industrialisation. This aligns closely with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s mantra of leaving no one and no place behind, a vision that seeks to empower districts like Chegutu, Magunje, and others historically overlooked in national development planning.
Chegutu District Development Coordinator, Mr Mark Kadaira, has been quick to emphasise the broader social impact of the investment. “This is about more than just cement,” he noted. “It’s about building lives, building youth capacities, and building communities. Localised production doesn’t just feed the economy, it empowers the people at the heart of it.”
Nationally, the government has set an ambitious goal, to grow the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the country’s GDP from 14.5 percent to 22 percent, the level last recorded during the first decade of independence. Minister of Industry and Commerce, Honourable Mangaliso Ndlovu, sees this investment momentum as critical to achieving that vision. “This is testimony that our manufacturing sector is on a firm recovery path. It is investments like these that will accelerate us toward that GDP target,” he remarked.
Elsewhere in Mashonaland West, momentum continues to build. In Magunje, Hurungwe, another Chinese investor, WhiZim International, is pouring US$1 billion into yet another cement plant. When complete, it is expected to employ over 2,000 people, and construction is already at an advanced stage. Taken together, these investments do not just represent capital flows, they represent confidence. Confidence in the local workforce, in Zimbabwe’s raw material base, and in its policy framework that increasingly favours localisation and beneficiation.
Yet, as with all industrial expansion, challenges remain. From securing stable energy supplies to managing environmental impact, the road to cement self-sufficiency must be paved not only with ambition but with responsibility. Regulatory oversight, public-private coordination, and long-term skills development must remain central pillars in the government’s strategy if this momentum is to be sustained.
Still, the direction is clear. Zimbabwe is no longer waiting for imported solutions to meet local needs. It is building its own, one plant, one job, one community at a time.
