As part of her three-day official visit to Ethiopia, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf visited Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP), the biggest textile and apparel factory in Africa. The industrial park is home to fifteen leading global apparel and textile companies from various countries like US, China, India, Sri Lanka as well as six local manufacturers.
The industrial park features a provision for all government services, one-stop shop service centre and also employs Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) that recycles 85 per cent of sewerage disposal water, adhering to international standards. The ZLD system showcases the country’s commitment to build a climate resilient middle-income economy by 2025, as it was presented by the park authorities. It was also said that the park is expected to employ 60,000 people at full capacity and be able to generate export revenue amounting to $1 billion.
“What we have witnessed here is remarkable. It showed us that there reside tremendous potentials on how we can work in partnership thereby encouraging inter-Africa trade. The very achievements of the country in light manufacturing such as apparel, leather products, agribusiness etc. would provide us the necessary lesson so as to materialise our vision to build Industrial parks in Liberia,” said president Johnson.
The president took a closer look at the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH) and TAL apparel factories. PVH is an American clothing company, which owns brands such as Van Heusen, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, IZOD and Arrow. TAL Group is the world leading apparel manufacturer producing technologically advanced garments that combine superior styles, comfort and functionality. These two reputable companies are expected to make their first exports to the world in a few months.
Source: www.fibre2fashion.com
