sugarethanolbioenergy.com-platinum crest agro ventures to build zimbabwe's largest sugar mill with usd 170 million investment

Sugar Ethanol Bioenergy Int- Indian agro‐industrial company Platinum Crest Agro Ventures Pvt. Ltd. has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Government of Zimbabwe to build the country’s largest integrated sugar complex. The deal, valued at US$170 million, was formalized during the India-Africa Summit held in New Delhi, in the presence of Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Ambassador Stella Nkomo, and other senior ministers. 

The project will include a sugar mill with a current capacity of 3,500 tons of cane per day (TCD), which is designed to be expandable up to 10,000 TCD. Also planned are a 60 KLPD ethanol distillery (expandable to 150 KLPD), reinforcing ambitions for ethanol blending and export. On the energy front, the complex will feature 20 MW cogeneration capacity plus 5 MW of solar power, enabling a renewable energy footprint and bolstering energy security. 

The social and economic impact is expected to be substantial: approximately 1,500 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobswill be created, with efforts made to include outgrower schemes for thousands of smallholder farmers. Strategically, the sugar complex is intended to elevate Zimbabwe’s role as an export hub in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), improving trade competitiveness. The project is being positioned as emblematic of deepening India-Zimbabwe cooperation under broader India-Africa agricultural, trade, and sustainable energy partnerships.