Tobacco company Cut Rag Processors is planning to invest USD 80 million in a new tobacco manufacturing plant in Harare, reports The Sunday Mail.

According to The Sunday Mail, the company has already cleared 60,000 square metres of land in the Lochinvar industrial area where the plant is set to be built. Cut Rag Processors is one of Zimbabwe’s main exporters of cut rage and manufactures the Remington Gold cigarette brand and the new plant is thought to be a “furtherance of the company’s broad strategic direction underpinned by TVCTP (Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan), which seeks to boost national economic benefits through value addition.”
Cut Rag Processors managing director Mr Nyasha Chinhara said that the company was indeed setting up a new plant in Harare, but did not want to comment further on the matter citing “finalisation of confidential internal processes”.
“The manufacturing plant will have both primary manufacturing department and secondary manufacturing department processing lines. Civil works are already underway,” a source close to the matter said.
Last year, the Cabinet approved the TVCTA which is looking to increase the localisation of funding for tobacco farming to 70 per cent by 2025 and increase the level of value addition to 30 per cent from 2 per cent as it stands, reports The Sunday Mail.