The new owners of the former Riopele Têxteis textile factory, located in the Marracuene district of Maputo province, have started work to refurbish the unit that has been at a standstill for around nine years, according to Mozambican newspaper Notícias.

A consortium made up of Mozambican group Intelec Holdings and by Portuguese companies Crispim Abreu, Mundifios and MundoTêxtil, in October 2012 signed a contract in Maputo to buy the Riopele Moçambique factory, which until then had been owned by State stake-holding company Instituto de Gestão das Participações do Estado (Igepe).

The chairman of Igepe, Apolinário Pelembe, said at the time that the acquisition of Riopele Moçambique by the consortium was a “brave move,” as the factory had been closed for a long time.

Also according to Notícias, the factory, work on which is currently focusing on the building itself so that equipment can be installed later, is scheduled to start operating in 2014 and its work will focus on spinning cotton to produce fabrics .

Now known as MCM – Indústrias, the company is expected to employ around 150 people, most of which will be Mozambicans living in the Marracuene area. (macauhub)