Dr. Nicolaus Shombe, director general of Tanzania’s state-owned National Development Corporation (NDC), has announced that NDC and China-based Fujian Hexingwang have signed an agreement to develop the country’s first iron ore project, in which the Chinese company will invest $77.4 million.
Within the scope of the Maganga Matitu project in the Njombe region, Fujian Hexingwang will build an iron ore mine with a capacity of 1 million mt per year, along with a raw iron refinery. A study that had been carried out in 2020 revealed that Maganga Matitu has 101 million mt of iron ore reserves.
The project will not only pave the way for economic growth in the Njombe region, but also for the whole country, and with the help of the project, Tanzania will be able to start producing its own steel locally. Even though domestic steel demand is high, it is met solely by imports.
Additionally, the Tanzanian government, NDC and the Chinese company will build a joint venture to ensure transparency in the operation of the project. In particular, Fujian Hexingwang will hold 64 percent of the shares in the project, while NDC and the government will own 20 percent and 16 percent, respectively.