It’s nearly two decades now with the Government trying to resuscitate the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (zisco), which at some stage, was among Africa’s largest steel mills.
Since 2006, several offers for zisco were made by global steel giants including Essar Holdings, Jindal Steel & Power and Global Steel Holdings of India, but all collapsed partly due to lengthy approval processes.
zisco, a major foreign currency earner before independence in 1980, hasn’t produced since 2008 and its demise is largely blamed on mismanagement and lack of funds to upgrade the aging equipment. The plant had the capacity to produce one million tonnes of steel per year.