Afrexim Bank weighs in on how Industrial Parks intends to change Malawi economic landscape

On 1 June, 2024, the Malawi leader President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera officially launched the first ever Malawi’s Industrial Park in Lilongwe, with a key message that once the project is completed will enable Malawi to increase its forex generation through exports of various finished farm products.

Chakwera said the industrial parks will among others, reduce poverty that has accelerated due to the corrupt selling of Malawi’s indigenous companies which were set by the founding father, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

It is against this background that the Afreximbank, in partnership with Arise IIP and the Republic of Malawi, initiates construction of the “Magwero Industrial Park” in Lilongwe, an integrated industrial park set to accelerate the country’s industrialization.

Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah, says the project is Designed to expedite Malawi’s industrialization process through two pillars, diversification of its economy and valorization of its natural resources.

Orama says the industrial park is set to host industrial units from various sectors, including: Local processing of agricultural products such as soybeans, cotton, tomatoes, maize, peanuts, and retail food products.

He says manufacturing industry, featuring production units for glass, construction materials, lighting products such as LED accessories, plywood, and paper production.

Spanning 417 hectares, the industrial park enjoys a strategic location, about 10 km from Kamuzu International Airport and Malawi’s capital, as well as being in close proximity to the Malawian railway network.

The Professor says the project will comprise an industrial zone, logistics warehouses, a residential area, an Internal Container Depot Terminal (ICDT), and “Plug and Play” infrastructure, offering ready-to-use hangars for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Orama says, Afreximbank, emphasized the project’s significant potential to contribute to the development and diversification of Malawi’s economy: “We expect the Magwero Industrial Park to generate at least 15,000 jobs for Malawians, US$600 Million in annual export revenues, and about US$600 million in foreign direct investment flows. This will significantly boost the economy of Malawi and improve the quality of life of its citizens while also positioning the country as an active and dominant player in the emerging single Continental market.” He added that ‘strong Political Will and Leadership backed by African capital and innovation represent a powerful force that will drive positive economic transformation.’

Mr. Gagan Gupta, President-Founder of ARISE IIP, expressed gratitude with the project and this is exactly what he said.“We are immensely proud of this new partnership with the Government of Malawi. The Magwero Industrial Park is more than just an economic zone, it is a particularly impactful project for Malawi and aims to catalyze investments and local job creation. This enduring partnership taking shape today with the Republic of Malawi aims to catalyze industrialization in the country by creating industrial value chains supported by international investors.”

For the starters Afreximbank is an acronym of driven from African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) a pan-African multilateral financial institution dedicated to financing and promoting intra and extra-African trade.

For 30 years, Afreximbank has deployed innovative instruments to provide financing solutions that facilitate the transformation of African trade structure and accelerate industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby supporting economic expansion in Africa.

The bank is a staunch advocate of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Afreximbank launched the operations of a pan-African payment and settlement system (PAPSS), which was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to support the implementation of the AfCFTA.