The Vice President General (Rtd) Dr CGDN Chiwenga today witnessed the signing of an MOU between AVM Africa and Minsk Auto Mobile Plant of Belarus. The MOU aims to ease transport challenges through the supply of buses fit for both rural and urban use.
Chiwenga officially launched the locally manufactured AVM Protype City Bus at the Zimbabwe Belarus Business Forum in Harare on Monday 19 February 2024.
AVM Africa and Minsk Auto Mobile Plant of Belarus signed an MOU for the supply of buses fit for both rural and urban use.
AVM was ‘lying dead’ for decades until the local bus manufacturer partnered with a Chinese-owned City-Card Pvt Ltd in 2019.
AVM Africa (PVT) LTD formally W. Dahmer and company was established in 1961 by Messers W. Dahmer and Brennett. It was then bought by Lonhro in the late seventies and in 2002 it was bought over by KSM Holdings owned by K.S Musanhi. AVM Africa has been a major supplier of durable and reliable AVM buses for local and far afield markets.
The company has a capacity to produce up to 40 buses per month on a double shift and during its pick periods employed up to 2,500 people directly and created employment to 85 downstream companies as services, material and parts providers. Thousands of jobs were created in those companies. Good examples were Dunlop and PG Glass in Mutare.
City Card provides complete knocked down kits for buses to be assembled at AVM’s plant.
It is in a joint venture with Sino-Zimbabwe Company partnering three Chinese partners in the venture.
More to follow….
Source – online
