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Venessia plans $1.5b refinery in Zimbabwe

DUBAI — Qatar’s Venessia Petroleum plans to build a 120,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Zimbabwe costing as much as $1.5 billion, the company’s general manager said yesterday.

”We have signed the agreement with the Zimbabwe energy ministry and the feasibility study is nearly completed,” Jawhar Zaidi said by telephone from Doha.

Zaidi said the refinery, to be located in Harare, would move into the design stage by the end of the year.

“We would look to import crude from Qatar or another Middle Eastern country,” Zaidi said, adding that the company had still to decide how the project would be financed.

Venessia Petroleum is chaired by Abdulaziz bin Mohammad bin Jabor Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, Zaidi said.

Zimbabwe’s economy is on the brink of collapse with inflation running at an annual 6,600 per cent, the highest in the world.

Isolated from the West over its human rights record, the government has proposed a bill to transfer majority ownership of foreign companies to Zimbabweans.

The bill, if passed by the Senate, would force mining and banking firms to give at least 51 per cent control to Zimbabweans.

Another member of the Venessia group plans to build a hotel in Zimbabwe, Zaidi said, adding the company was not concerned about the political situation.

The authorities running the Zimbabwe capital Harare have entered into a deal worth $136 million with Qatar-based Vanessia General Trading to build hotels, shopping malls and casinos, reports said yesterday.

Under the deal with Vanessia General Trading, two hotels and a shopping complex will be completed over the next five years, said the official Herald daily.

“The joint venture company is anticipated to develop, construct the facilities, operate the businesses of hotels, shopping malls, office complexes, casinos and all associated activities,” Harare Town Clerk Tendai Mahachi was quoted as saying.

Under the agreement, the Harare authorities will provide the land and technical expertise while Vanessia General Trading will provide the money and technology.

The Zimbabwean capital, once dubbed the Sunshine City, is going through hard times. There are chronic water shortages, frequent power outages and insufficient fuel to collect refuse as a result of the economic meltdown in the country.