Zimbabwe: South Africa-based PPC says that it has completed a solar plant tendering process for its Colleen Bawn and Bulaweyo plants. Chief executive officer Roland van Wijnen said that a 30MW captive plant has been approved by the board, generation licenses have been approved and that the project site has been cleared ahead of construction.
Van Wijnen added that PPC continues to see Zimbabwe as a ‘strong market for the group’ despite some economic challenges, explaining “We took a relatively long operational stop to ensure our operations in the country are future-proof and improved from an environmental standpoint. The plant is now performing well from both an output and cost-per-tonne perspective. We knew our earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) would be reduced due to this operational stoppage. We have since stepped up production and reclaimed market share and we anticipate EBITDA to meet or exceed full year 2022 levels in full year 2024.”