Chinese-owned factory in Tanzania exports float glass to 6 African countries

DAR ES SALAAM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Sapphire Float Glass Factory, owned by Chinese investors in the Mkuranga District of the Coast Region in eastern Tanzania, is exporting float glass to six African countries, an official said on Monday.

Minister of Industry and Trade Ashatu Kijaji told the parliament in the national capital of Dodoma that the factory, inaugurated by President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Sept. 20, 2023, is exporting float glass to Madagascar, Burundi, Zambia, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Africa.

Kijaji told Xinhua on Tuesday that the factory is exporting 60 percent of its manufactured float glass used in construction, and the factory's production capacity is 700 tonnes of float glass per day or 189,000 tonnes per year, but it is currently producing 450 tonnes per day or 121,500 tonnes per year.

Kijaji added that the factory has created 1,012 direct jobs for locals and 3,857 indirect jobs, stressing that at full production capacity, the factory will create 1,650 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs.