The Al-Bader International Development Company plans to invest U$1.5 billion in an agro-industrial project for the production of sugarcane in Mozambique, with a view to producing ethanol, the Chief Executive of the Kuwaiti company said Wednesday.

Ali Mahmoud, who was speaking after a meeting with Mozambican Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario, said the project would be developed in Massingir district in the interior of the southern province of Gaza, and should begin within three months, according to Mozambican news agency AIM.

Apart from this agro-industrial project, the company plans to create a coal to liquid fuels (CTL) conversion unit in Tete province, costing US$13 billion.

These fuels have been produced for several decades in neighbouring South Africa, which is the only country in the world with a commercially active CTL industry, and may, according to Ali Mahmoud, reduce Mozambique’s energy import bill.

Several coal mining projects are being developed by international groups, such as Vale of Brazil and the International Coal Ventures Private Limited, India, in the coal region of Tete, but are facing difficulties due to a low export capacity of the local facilities and a drop in the price of coal on international markets.

The Chief Executive of the Al Bader International Development Company said the portfolio of projects that the company intends to develop in Mozambique is estimated at US$26 billion.

The company is part of the Al-Bader Group that has operations in various sectors in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. (macauhub/MZ)