A big steel company called Dinson has started making steel bars in Zimbabwe. They make these bars at their new factory near a place called Mvuma. The factory cost one and a half billion dollars to build.
Dinson began working last July. First, they made something called pig iron, then steel billets, and now these steel bars are their newest product. A man named Mr Motsi works at the factory. He said they started making the bars last week. They want to make sure the bars are perfect before they make lots of them.
The factory plans to make more steel as time goes on. In the beginning, they wanted to make 600,000 tonnes of steel each year. Later, they will make even more—up to 5 million tonnes! They will sell their steel to people in Zimbabwe and other countries.
The factory needs lots of power to work. They built their power plant to produce 50 megawatts of electricity. Right now, they use 28 megawatts, and they want to share the extra power with everyone else in Zimbabwe. Soon, the factory will make different kinds of steel bars and wires.
Before this factory opened, Zimbabwe had to buy most of its steel from other countries. This was very expensive. Last year, Zimbabwe spent more money buying things from other countries than it made by selling things. The difference was 2.1 billion dollars!
Mr Mangisi, who knows a lot about metal factories, said this new factory will help Zimbabwe save money. People who build things in Zimbabwe used to buy their steel from faraway places like India and China. This happened because Zimbabwe's old steel factory, Zisco, closed in 2008. The new Dinson factory means builders can buy their steel right here in Zimbabwe.
Dinson began working last July. First, they made something called pig iron, then steel billets, and now these steel bars are their newest product. A man named Mr Motsi works at the factory. He said they started making the bars last week. They want to make sure the bars are perfect before they make lots of them.
The factory plans to make more steel as time goes on. In the beginning, they wanted to make 600,000 tonnes of steel each year. Later, they will make even more—up to 5 million tonnes! They will sell their steel to people in Zimbabwe and other countries.
The factory needs lots of power to work. They built their power plant to produce 50 megawatts of electricity. Right now, they use 28 megawatts, and they want to share the extra power with everyone else in Zimbabwe. Soon, the factory will make different kinds of steel bars and wires.
Before this factory opened, Zimbabwe had to buy most of its steel from other countries. This was very expensive. Last year, Zimbabwe spent more money buying things from other countries than it made by selling things. The difference was 2.1 billion dollars!
Mr Mangisi, who knows a lot about metal factories, said this new factory will help Zimbabwe save money. People who build things in Zimbabwe used to buy their steel from faraway places like India and China. This happened because Zimbabwe's old steel factory, Zisco, closed in 2008. The new Dinson factory means builders can buy their steel right here in Zimbabwe.
