economic performance in 2011. real gdp is projected to grow by at least 6. 8 percent and will continue to be driven by strong performance in the agricultural, mining, construction and tourism sectors. this will be aided by anticipated strong performance in the external sector, already reflected by favourable performance in the first half of the year. inflation is expected to slow down to 7. 0 percent by end of 2011. the bumper harvest recorded during the 2010 / 11 harvest season is expected to dampen effects on overall inflation through the food component. in the mining sector, copper production is expected to increase due to continued investments in the mining sector. in addition, the major infrastructure projects currently taking place are expected to support growth in the construction sector. as the global economy continues to recover from effects of the global economic crisis, growth in tourism is also expected in 2011. the positive developments recorded in the zambian economy thus far will go a long way is shaping tomorrow ’ s future. this should trickle down to all sectors of the economy and raise employment and income opportunities for zambians, and therefore be lifted the majority of people out of poverty. bis central bankers ’ speeches implications of reclassification of zambia to middle income status effective july 1, 2011, zambia has been reclassified by the world bank as a lower middle income nation. lower middle - income countries are those with per capita gross national incomes ( gnis ) of between us $ 1, 006 and us $ 3, 975 per year ; while upper middle - income countries are those with gnis between us $ 3, 976 and us $ 12, 275. this status reflects the continued economic growth that has been registered in the recent years. zambia ’ s reclassification as a middle income country would enhance investor confidence and further boost the investment climate thereby creating jobs and wealth for the people. in terms of financing, it should be noted that with the new arrangement, the government would be able to access more non concessional financing which remain key for infrastructure development necessary for economic development. this is in contrast with the previous status whereby zambia could only access limited concessional financing which attracted very low interest rates and payable after a long time. despite the positive reclassification, it should be noted that the disparity between the poor and the rich would always be there and do exist even in developed countries. the challenge for the government is to implement policies that will redistribute wealth so that inequality is reduced. nevertheless, with reclassification

, 781 mt, respectively. during the first half of 2011, total copper output at 414, 984. 5 mt, was 4. 0 % higher than 399, 062. 0 mt produced during the corresponding period of 2010. similarly, cobalt output was 4, 352. 7 mt, 8. 5 % higher than 4, 012. 8 mt produced in the first half of 2010. this outturn was largely explained by the increase in the scale of production by the mines coupled with the rebound in copper prices, following the relative recovery in the global economy. b. manufacturing performance of the manufacturing sector in 2010 and the first half of 2011 have been favourable with a 4. 1 % growth in 2010 ( 2. 2 % in 2009 ). growth has largely been driven by agro - processing ( food & beverages ), including production of nonmetallic mineral and fabricated metal goods, chemicals, explosives and construction materials ( such as cement ). growth in agro - processing has been supported in part by the last two maize bumper harvests, 2010 ( 2. 8 million mt of maize ) and ( 3. 0 million mt of maize 2011 ). strong construction activities have stimulated strong demand for manufacture of construction materials particularly cement and cement - related products. total cement output by the country ’ s three manufacturing plants ( lafarge zambia plc, oriental quarries and zambezi portland plc ) rose by 37. 9 % to 1, 126, 728 mt in 2010 from 817, 223. 0 mt in 2009. further, during the first half of 2011 cement output at 617, 115. 2 mt was 36. 0 % higher than the 453, 791. 0 mt produced in the corresponding half of 2010. c. multi - facility economic zones zambia ’ s goal catalyzing industrial and economic development through increased activity in the manufacturing sector has led the country to embark on the development of multi - facility economic zones ( mfezs ) in selected parts of the country. among the mfezs are : – the chambishi mfez ( construction is advanced ) being developed in partnership with the chinese government with a commitment of over us $ 1 billion ; – two lusaka mfezs ( preparatory phases ) and one industrial park. one of the lusaka mfezs, the lusaka south, will be developed in cooperation with a malaysian firm at an estimated cost of us $ 1 billion ; bis central bankers