Green Fuel $1.8 billion away from finalising ethanol plants

Biofuel firm Green Fuel needs $1.8 billion (€1.3 billion) in foreign direct investment (FDI) to finish the construction of four ethanol plants.

First phase construction of the Chisumbanje ethanol plant cost $200 million alone.

The company is currently hoping to construct the Condo Dam plant, priced at $300 million, as the build will expand Green Fuel’s source of irrigation water supplies, which they are currently getting from Osborne Dam and Lesapi Dam over 200km away from their site.

Green Fuels’ investment blueprint document shows that the second phase, which is already underway will cost $260 million while $450m and $1 billion will be ploughed into the third and final phase, respectively.

Arda board chairperson Basil Nyabadza has revealed that the total investment cost to the ethanol project set up in 2008 will come to more than $1.8 billion.

Basil Nyabadza adds: ‘The Green Fuel, Arda project is not an event, it’s a process. It has got four phases. We have just completed phase one, which started in 2008. Phase two started this year and the entire project will run up to phase four.’

Once finished, the government will save $12 million every month from the fuel importation bill, which currently sits at $4 million.