Not so fast Dr Mengi is more smarter on this, he is already forging ventures with the Chinese on a gas pipeline project to Uganda. Mind u EACOP will need to be heated n he is already ready to tap the opportunity. Imagine inviting the whole delegation of Chinese investors plus their Ambassador for lunch!
Dr Mengi invites Chinese firms into crop processing, smelting plants
ippmedia.com/en/news/dr-mengi-invites-chinese-firms-crop-processing-smelting-plants
December 5, 2018
Speaking yesterday during a luncheon he prepared for the delegation of Chinese investors who were in the country to explore investment opportunities, Dr Mengi said he is looking for joint ventures with Chinese companies interested to partner with IPP in gas extraction and tyre manufacturing among others.
"My plan is to revive General Tyre plant in Arusha and this is strategic because we have already announced plans to assemble cars in the country - which means we will need tyres," he said.
Dr Mengi told the Chinese delegation that Tanzania was a country with vast investment opportunities in natural resources, saying it can do wonders if enough promotion is made.
He stated that IPP plans to invest in processing cashew nuts , smelting mineral sands from mining areas like gold, tanzanite and others,
plus transporting gas to Uganda.
IPP similarly intends to return General Tyre East Africa to its old self as a giant tyre manufacturing plant located in Arusha, he told the delegation.
Other areas Dr Mengi surveyed include plans to invest in exporting fresh fruits and vegetables to China which have been scarce due to climate change.
"China and Tanzania have been friends for a long time and we as Tanzanians bank on the Chinese people as long time brothers and sisters," he declared.
In his remarks, Chinese ambassador to Tanzania Wang Ke said the embassy will always work to facilitate business links between the two countries.
The delegation consisted of multinational companies ranging from manufacturing, technology to construction.
Dr Mengi has in recent days announced an IPP list of industries to be built in the country as part of the industrialization drive.
The first is the pharmaceutical industry which is a joint venture between Dr Mengi and Indian physician Dr Nagesh Bhandari, worth 55bn/- and will be finalised in a period of 18 months.
The facility will be located at Kerege area in Bagamoyo, Coast region.
It is expected that the factory will manufacture various kinds of medicine including Intravenous fluids, Dextrose, Ringer Lactate, Sodium Chloride, Normal Saline and IV kits for kidney dialysis among others.
The IPP Executive Chairman later announced to have ventured with a Dubai based electronic manufacturing company Touchmate to start producing cellphones and electronic accessories in near future.
In the agreement, the company will invest 11.5 billion/- ($5 million) to manufacture smart phones and other electronic equipments like computers, ipads, Bluetooth music speakers, headphones, earphones and various other appliances.
The tablets to be manufactured will be mainly for use by Tanzanian students, especially those studying in rural areas where electricity is insufficient. The solar power tablets will be installed with e-books as per Tanzanian primary and secondary school curricular, he explained.
He said the e-books will partly address the shortage of textbooks and enable students to cope with current science and technology developments.
Recently he signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a car assembly plant with a Korean firm. The plant will be located at Kurasini, on the outskirts of the city business centre.