Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) is positioning its 800-hectare Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Manhize as a platform for downstream manufacturing, with the company saying the industrial park could accommodate more than 300 businesses as Zimbabwe seeks to extract greater value from its steel production, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
DISCO Chief Operations Officer Wilfred Motsi said the development of the SEZ was part of a broader strategy to move Manhize beyond steel production into manufacturing, beneficiation and the creation of industries that use locally produced steel and other raw materials.
“The story of Zimbabwe must not remain that we have more than 50 minerals. The story must be about what factories we have, what products we are producing and how many jobs we are creating,” Motsi said.
The SEZ is expected to create opportunities for manufacturers involved in steel fabrication, roofing products, pipes, nails and other downstream industries.
Government has previously said more than 300 companies have expressed interest in opportunities around the 800-hectare industrial zone, including businesses seeking to manufacture products from steelmaking by-products such as slag and ash.
For DISCO, the development of these downstream industries would increase domestic demand for steel while reducing the need to export raw or semi-processed mineral value.
Motsi said DISCO was already producing about 600,000 tonnes of carbon steel and expected production to approach two million tonnes in the coming years.
The company’s product range includes pig iron, billets, reinforcement bars and wire rods, while plans are also underway for additional manufacturing facilities, including steel products for the mining industry and other downstream applications.
The development of mining-related manufacturing is particularly significant for Zimbabwe’s mineral sector, where several products used by mines have historically been imported.
Motsi said DISCO was also developing production capacity for mill balls and other products used in mining, creating the possibility of a deeper link between Zimbabwe’s steel and mining industries.
The SEZ therefore forms part of a wider industrial chain stretching from mineral extraction to processing, steelmaking, fabrication and final products.
That chain is also increasing the importance of transport infrastructure.
NRZ and Grand Railway Solutions (GRS), a Dinson Group subsidiary, signed an agreement on Monday for the development of a new railway connection between Manhize and Mvuma, rehabilitation of the Mvuma-Gweru section and deployment of locomotives and wagons to transport bulk cargo. The initial budget for the approximately 54-kilometre Manhize-Mvuma link is estimated at about US$125 million.
The railway agreement is expected to support the movement of coal and coke from Hwange to Manhize, while finished steel can be moved from the plant to domestic and export markets.
For a growing industrial zone, the rail link could also provide a logistics platform for companies operating within the SEZ, particularly manufacturers dealing with large volumes of raw materials and finished products.
Motsi said DISCO was sourcing about 90 percent of its raw materials locally, meaning expansion of production would have implications beyond the steel plant itself.
The company has also been developing its own power generation capacity, with Motsi saying DISCO has a 50MW thermal power station and is recovering waste heat from its blast furnace operations to generate additional electricity.
The wider Manhize development is therefore emerging as an interconnected industrial ecosystem involving steel production, mining, manufacturing, energy, logistics and potentially hundreds of downstream companies.
Earlier industry engagements have identified the SEZ as a major opportunity for local manufacturers to establish operations around DISCO rather than simply supplying the company from outside the region.
The challenge now will be converting investor interest into operating factories, local supply contracts and measurable industrial output.
For Zimbabwe’s industrialisation agenda, the significance of the Manhize SEZ will ultimately depend not only on the number of companies it attracts, but on how much value those companies add locally, how many jobs they create and how strongly they connect mining, manufacturing and export supply chains.
With rail infrastructure now being developed alongside the steel complex, Manhize is increasingly being shaped as more than a steel plant, with logistics potentially providing the link between mines, factories and regional markets.
