Kapiri Glass in $8m PTA Bank funding

KAPIRI Glass Manufacturing Limited has signed an US$8 million loan agreement with PTA Bank to resuscitate the glass factory, which will produce a wide range of bottles for Zambia’s beverages industry.
The revival of the glass manufacturing company will create about 400 jobs for Kapiri Mposhi’s swelling population.

Kapiri Glass Manufacturing chairman Costain Chilala said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the demand for glass products has increased several folds since the closure of the factory, resulting in the importation of the products.

He said the closure of Kapiri Glass Factory has had negative effects on Kapiri Mposhi and the country as a whole.

Mr Chilala said the total cost of the project is US$22 million out of which US$13.6 million is the working capital required to revamp operations at the plant.

Of the total US$13.6 million working capital, US$8 million has been sourced from PTA Bank, another US$2 million from the Development Bank of Zambia while the remainder will be funded by Chimsoro Group of Companies, which is owned by the Chilala family.

He said the factory is expected to resume full production in 14 months’ time with initial production capacity of 75 metric tonnes of glass a day and later expand to 100 metric tonnes per day.

Mr Chilala has partnered with more than five equipment suppliers from Switzerland, Italy and Germany that specialise in glass-making equipment.

The project will create environmentally friendly packaging materials that will meet the needs of multi-national companies like Coca-Cola, SABMiller and Zambian firms like Freshpikt, Rivonia, honey producers and pharmaceutical companies.

Witnessing the signing of the loan agreement, Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda said the project will have beneficial ramification for the country’s economy and Kapiri Mposhi in particular, where local people will be employed.

“I congratulate Mr Chilala for embarking on this enterprise. Your success will provide what the sociologists call a positive demonstration effect to other enterprising Zambians and I am absolutely sure that there are many such compatriots,” he said.

Mr Chikwanda said it is encouraging and a sign of hope that a pan-African financial institution is in the forefront of contributing to the establishment of an industry which will produce a series of sophisticated items for both local and regional markets.

He commended PTA Bank for the gesture and hoped that this is the start of a long journey in helping Zambia to fill its financial resource gap.

And PTA Bank executive director for Zambia Moses Nawa said the bank agreed to support the project considering that Zambia needs to diversify its economy.

Mr Nawa said there is need to enhance economic growth of the country through job creation.

He said in the last four years, PTA Bank has financed the importation of petroleum products into Zambia, supported the manufacturing sector, finance services, real estate and agro businesses.

Kapiri Glass Products Limited was formerly a parastatal that was privatised in 1995 but got closed in 1998 due to poor market for glass products at that time.

Kapiri Glass Manufacturing was formed in 2008 after Chimsoro Group of Companies bought core assets of Kapiri Glass Factory from the receiver, Energy and Young.