R540m sweetens Moz project. (Business briefs).

A giant Mozambique sugar project is up an running after a consortium of leading South African financial institutions injected R540m into the enterprise. The cash injection will rehabilitate the Mauromeu Sugar project, one of the first initiatives in the Mozambique Zambezi Valley Development Corridor. The funders are the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Industrial Development Corporation, Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank, Mauritius Commercial Bank and four Mozambique banks.

The sugar estate and mill were substantially damaged during Mozambique's civil war, and will now be extended to some 10,300ha of planted cane producing around 100,000 tons of sugar a year. At full production the sugar estate will employ 5,500 people.