All is set for the Mining, Engineering, and Transport (Mine-Entra) expo to be held in Bulawayo next week with the organisers expecting six participating countries as compared to five which took part last year.
The 24th edition of the expo will be held under the theme, “Accelerating Zimbabwe’s Mining Future to 2030”, and has attracted local firms and companies in the mining, engineering and transport sectors from South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, China and South Korea.
The annual event organised by the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Company to be held from July 17 to 19 at the ZITF exhibition centre will see the Minister of Mines and Mining Development Winston Chitando being the guest of honor.
According to the ZITF acting general manager, Nicholas Ndebele, the expo has maintained strong demand for space which demonstrates the resilience of the mining value chain.
“This year we have six participating countries including Zimbabwe compared to five last year,” said Ndebele.
“Exhibitor numbers are impressive and we are excited about the prospects for this year’s expo. We already have 203 direct exhibitors and we expect the figure to go up as the momentum was temporarily disrupted by the changes on the monetary front a week ago,” he said.
Finance and Economic Development Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, is one of the key speakers at this year’s event and is expected to discuss how the mining industry can leverage on economic transformation to achieve a $12 billion mining economy by 2023.
Government has set a target of US$12 billion mining sector contribution to the economy by 2023.
An inter-ministerial roundtable discussion on creating an enabling environment for mining sector growth with 2030 vision in mind would also be convened during the expo.
Minister Fortune Chasi (Energy and Power Development), would also be part of the inter-ministerial roundtable discussion panelists.
Joint suppliers and producers co-chair, Sifelani Jabangwe, is expected to present a paper titled, “Enabling mineral resource-led economic growth: Supply-side opportunities and challenges”.
Mine Entra is a trade showcase that seeks to unlock the potential, opportunities and growth prospects throughout the mining value chain and its related industries such as engineering and transport.
