Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE National Development Corporation (NDC) is looking for potential investors in its medium density fibre (MDF) board project worth $24m (over 55bn/-).
NDC Acting Director Research and Planning, Dr Grace Mselle, said a factory would be constructed in Mafinga, Iringa and would provide 150 direct and 600 informal jobs.
“The project is implemented under Green Gold Treasure Limited, which is a joint venture between NDC and Edosama Hardware Limited. The company is involved in adding value to forest products, but we are still looking for potential investors in the area,” she said.
MDF is a manufactured product composed of wood fibres mixed with resin and wax and pressed into flat panels under high temperature and pressure.
It is used as an interior building material in residential and commercial buildings.
Speaking during a meeting with Investment Minister, Prof Kitila Mkumbo, she said the current use of trees was only 45 per cent and the project would increase tree use to 98 per cent.
NDC Acting Executive Director Rhobi Sattima said currently Tanzania imported MDF where the country ended up getting grade 4 which was lightweight, but once the project kicked off the country could get high quality.
“Investment is not limited to raw materials only, but there is also a need for machinery and the area where it will be used for investment,” she said.
According to Forestry Development Trust report published in November 2017, wood product demand is driven largely by construction, furniture and paper.
Other sectors using wood are power transmission using eucalyptus poles (a key market for small tree growers) and the transport sector consuming wood in form of pallets and boxes.
It further said that wood product demand was expected to grow strongly, more than doubling in round wood equivalent (rwe) between 2013 (national consumption of 2.3 million m³ rwe) and 2035 (5.2 million m³ rwe), driven primarily by the construction sector and paper consumption.
