Financial Gazette (Harare)
Kumbirai Mafunda Senior Business Reporter
8 November 2007
Harare — ZIMBABWE'S leading bus manufacturing company AVM Africa has secured export orders to supply more than 700 new buses to four regional countries.
AVM Africa group executive chairman Kenneth Musanhi told The Financial Gazette in an interview this week that the bus building company had recently bid for a tender to supply 300 buses to a Malawian company called Shire.
"We are likely to get an order to supply between 70 to 80 buses," Musanhi said.
In Mozambique AVM Africa has also received an order to supply 600 new buses to a government owned company while in Zambia the bus manufacturing company has been contracted to refurbish buses for the Post Masters General office, which will be used to transport both passengers and mail.
AVM Africa will also supply new buses to the Zambia Defence Forces and the United Bus Company of Zambia, which has been privatised.
"Our vision is to become the biggest bus supplier in Africa. We are looking for finance to expand our programme in the region and Africa so that those buses purchased in the region have back up service," said Musanhi.
Musanhi, who recently sealed the acquisition of a controlling stake in edible oils manufacturer United Refineries Limited, acquired AVM Africa, known then as W. Dahmer from Lonrho Africa in 2002.
Early this year AVM Africa signed an agreement to assemble buses with Chinese automobile maker First Auto Works (FAW). Under the same agreement, AVM was given sole distributorship of FAW buses in the country and is the local franchise holder.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 Financial Gazette. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
