Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) banned Dangote Industries Limited from further activities after it illegally tapped water from a stream in Masaiti District, where the plant is based.
ZEMA slammed the hammer in January before the firm needed authorization before diverting the water.
Reprieve has come for the company following the intervention of commerce , Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Miles Sampa who urged ZEMA to lift the ban.
Sampa said – The ban slapped on Dangote and was delaying the development of the cement plant.
He said ZEMA should have stopped the firm from getting water from the stream instead of placing a ban.
Mr Sampa said such acts were frustrating the investor who had already invested a lot of money in the plant.
Dangote Cement in Nigeria has posted a record profit after tax equal to N201.2 billion for the group.