IDC INJECTS K684 MILLION INTO NCZ TO BOOST ITS PERFORMANCE

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has given its subsidiary Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) working capital of K684 million to help the company boost its production capacity.

IDC Group CEO Mr Mateyo Kaluba said of the total amount, K638 million was working capital support for the production of fertilizer to enable the company consistently supply the commodity to the market, while K45.6 million would enable the procurement of a fertilizer blending plant.

“We believe that this capital injection will help move NCZ to a self-sufficient status and enable the company to effectively compete with the private sector in the supply of blended fertilizers and diversify its revenues,” said Mr Kaluba.

He further commended NCZ management for the company’s recent transformation through forward-looking innovations, which saw it recording a profit of K30.8 million in the 2020 financial year.

Mr Kaluba said NCZ, which has had a challenging past, was beginning to show that the employees and the surrounding community of Kafue must have hope in the future of NCZ.

Part of the IDC’s mandate is to transform State-owned Enterprises to make them profitable through a performance-based turnaround programme and access to capital.