President Filipe Nyusi has presided over the ceremonial opening of the Cimentos de Maiaia cement plant in Nacala, in the northeastern Mozambican province of Nampula, AIM reports.

The Mozambican state-run news agency says the plant cost US$10.28 million, and that Chinese investors contributed 85 per cent of the money.

The report quotes Mr Nyusi as saying the new plant is a sign that investors are still confident about Mozambique, despite the Mozambican public-sector debt.

The president expressed hope that the output of Cimentos de Maiaia will reduce the retail price of cement – which is a big cause of grumbling among the people of Nampula.

The cement plant took nearly two years to build; employs 60 people, 48 of them local people; and has the capacity to produce 250,000 tonnes of cement a year, AIM says.