About 85 per cent of the works at Sinoma Mpande Limestone Ltd's new cement plant in Chongwe, Zambia, have been completed, according to the company's Managing Director, Zhang Yuanci.
Mr Yuanci said the plant is expected to be commissioned in March 2018 and once fully operational, over 600 Zambians will be offered jobs.
"We plan to send Zambians for further training in China, after which they will be engaged to come and work at the plant. Most of our workers will be local people," he said.
Mr Yuanci said about US$200m has so far been invested in phase one of the construction of the US$500m plant.
At a visit of the construction site, Lusaka Province Minister, Japhen Mwakalombe, said:
"First of all, I am very excited that Sinoma is investing such huge amounts of money in this plant. What is so exciting is that the management has taken care of issues of dust emission to our environment.
"I am pleased as provincial minister that issues of job creation for local people have been prioritised by Sinoma. We want jobs for our people," Mr Mwakalombe said.
