The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $75 million in funding for the construction of the first major titanium dioxide production plant in Africa, located in South Africa

The factory will be located in the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone in South Africa. The site, carried by Nyanza Light Metals Pty Ltd, will produce, according to estimates, 80,000 tons of titanium dioxide pigment per year, a material strategic used in paints, coatings, cosmetics and some medical applications. According to Solomon Quaynor, Vice President of ADB in charge of the private sector, infrastructure and industrialization, “this investment illustrates the commitment of the ADB to promote industrial transformation of the continent and to change the image of a Africa exporting raw materials to a value-creating Africa added”.