On December 3, H.E. Lu Xu, Chinese Ambassador to Malawi, attended and delivered remarks at the commissioning ceremony of the Portland Balaka Clinker & Cement Integrated Plant. Hon. Joseph Mwanamvekha, M.P., Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation attended the event and announced the official opening of the project on behalf of H.E. Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi. Dr. MacDonald Mafuta Mwale, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, and representatives from the Parliament of Malawi, local governments, the business community, local communities, as well as other dignitaries joined the event.

Ambassador Lu noted in her remarks that the successful commissioning of the Balaka Cement Plant is a testament of China’s commitment to deepening pragmatic cooperation with Malawi, by addressing the “4F+M” challenges and advancing the local economic and social development through job creation and industrial upgrading.

The Hon. Minister Mwanamvekha spoke highly of the project’s positive contributions and expressed the hope that the two sides would further expand pragmatic cooperation in various fields.