Zimbabwe's coal giant, Hwange Colliery Company Limited, has put into operation 13 huge-sized mining equipment imported from China worth 6.2 million U.S. dollars in a bid to double its output.

An inauguration ceremony was held at the Hwange Opencast Mine in west Zimbabwe province of Matebeleland North on Saturday for the operation of five 91-ton and five 45-ton Terex dumping trucks, two Atlas excavators and one TR50W water bowser, all made by Baotou No. 1 Machine Building Group in north China and supplied by China's Norinco.

"Norinco is very pleased to see its business expanding into more Zimbabwe's economic sectors with the implementation of Look East policy by the Zimbabwean government," said Jin Zhizhong, deputy representative of Norinco in Zimbabwe.

"With these equipment, we believe that Hwange Colliery will see expansion in its output to meet the country's needs for coal," Jin said, adding that in view of current economic difficulties, about 70 percent of the payment for the equipment will be deferred over a period of two years.

He said Norinco will continue making its efforts to provide high- quality products for the industrial sector in Zimbabwe. Norinco, one of the leading enterprise group in China, exports mainly large- sized mechanical products, provides various kinds of logistic services and builds civil engineering projects abroad.

In recent years, the Chinese company sets its foot in areas of energy and mining. Zimbabwe Vice President J. W. Msica attended the ceremony and cut the ribbon for the inauguration of these equipment.

He said the equipment is part of the mine's recapitalization program that gained momentum in the past months. It is also the first set of equipment the mine has managed to procure from a Chinese company in line with the government's dynamic Look East policy, he added. Msica said he has had many occasions to commission equipment procured from China in the past years.

"As we strive to maintain our sovereignty as a democratically elected government, and to economically emancipate our nation, I am one of those who is proud to be associated with our friends from China and other friendly countries from the East, who stood by us during our protracted struggle for independence, and are still standing with us today and sharing in our vision to socially and economically emancipate ourselves," the vice president said.

Source: Xinhua