Dar eyes exports of domestically made tiles

DAILY NEWS Reporter in Chalinze

AT least 8,000 people are expected to be employed by June next year in two different industries that are set to start production in mid 2017.

One of the industries is a multibillion state-of-the art factory located at Pingo village, a few kilometers from Chalinze along the Morogoro Road in Coast Region.
Speaking mid this week at the site where the factory is expected to be constructed, the Acting Director General of Tanzania Investment Center (TIC), Mr Clifford Tandari, said the move was a gesture of support to the government’s efforts to make Tanzania a hub of industries.
“Construction of this tiles factory will start on January 1, 2017, and according to their frame time, it will be ready for production mid next year,” said Mr Tandari. The Acting DG said TIC issued its investment certificate to Twyford (Tanzania) Ceramics Company Limited last September.
“This is one of more than 130 companies; in fact the number is 136, which have received TIC certificates so far in the last one year. Imagine how our country will be when all these companies will open factories,” he said.
The Twyford Company Managing Director, Mr Jack Feng, said they plan to invest about USD 56 million. “Our first products will be ready on Sabasaba day of 2017. The tiles factory which will use local materials from different parts of Tanzania, and will provide 2,000 direct employments and 4,000 indirect ones,” he said.
Mr Feng said there will be onemile long two production lines, which at their full capacity will be producing 20 million square meters of tiles per annum. The modern factory that will change life in Chalinze will use local coal as its source of power. “According to researches, 95 per cent of materials are available in Tanzania.
35 per cent of our tiles will be exported to other African countries while the remaining, we hope, will flood local market to give Tanzanians cheap prices of tiles for the first time ever,” he said.
Previously, Twyford were importing tiles from China to sell in Tanzania and neighboring countries. Meanwhile, another factory that will start production mid next year is Kibaha based Keds Tanzania Limited which will be producing soaps, detergent and shampoo.
Keds Project Manager, Collin Bien, said the factory with its USD 11 million investment will kick off July next year with at least 2,000 jobs available for Tanzanians