By 
The government has tasked various agencies to conduct due diligence on a proposed US$72 billion investment over 20 years by Viet-Zam Diversified Cooperation Limited.
This challenged was handed down by Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister, Chipoka Mulenga, in a ministerial statement in Parliament on Friday.
Mulenga stated that the government had not signed any agreements nor approved other requests made by the company.
Viet-Zam had requested six million hectares of land for their project, but Mulenga assured members of parliament that this was not feasible.
The proposed investment has come under scrutiny from various stakeholders, including chiefs.
Mulenga noted that the government was aware of the risks associated with allocating such large tracts of land to a single investor.
Consequently, the investor was advised to consider applying for a smaller piece of land.
“There is no land that has been allocated to the investor and neither has the government approved any of the requests that the investor was making such as tax breaks, lease fee waivers, and citizenship,” Mulenga clarified.
He stressed that the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) did not have the legal mandate to allocate land of any size, let alone the proposed six million hectares.
The proposal remains under consideration and no final decision has been reached.
After the proposal was submitted, ZDA organized a consultation with key stakeholders, including traditional leaders, Chief Matipa from Northern Province and Chief Chisunka from Luapula Province, on June 18, 2024.
Other stakeholders from within the government also attended the meeting.
“I am informed that during the meeting, it was made clear to the investor that granting such an amount of land by the government was not tenable. The investor was guided to apply for a smaller piece of land, in line with the existing farm block concept, where an investor can apply for up to 20,000 hectares for their project,” Mulenga stated.
He reiterated that the guidance provided was not an approval to grant six million hectares of land.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
Comments