Africa’s leading cement producer, Dangote cement has revealed that it will complete five cement plants spread across five African countries this year, adding about 13.5 million tonnes of cement/year to the existing capacity when completed.
The plants are at various stages of construction, and Africa’s wealthiest man and chief executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says the projects, highlighting company’s pan-African expansion drive, include the 1.5million tonnes/year Zambian plant; Tanzania’s 1.5 million tonnes/year plant; South Africa’s 3 million tonnes/year plant, and and 1.5 million tonnes/year capacity plants in the Republic of Congo and Gabon .
The Dangote Group is set to complete and inaugurate a US$400 million (€294 million) cement factory in Zambia by February.
In Nigeria, Dangote is working on the third and fourth production lines in the 6 million tonnes/year plant in Ibese, Ogun State, and the group says it plans to bring the plant’s total capacity to 12million tonnes/year, while another 3 million topnnes/year line is being added to the Obajana cement plant in Kogi State. An additional 3million tonnes/year is planned for its Obajana plant before the end of 2014. The plant currently has a capacity of 10.25 million tonnes/year and an additional 3 million tonnes/year.
The group’s core focus involves providing local value-added products and services that will generate employment and prevent capital flight.
“We will continue to encourage other investors to ensure that Nigeria becomes a self-sufficient industrial giant rather than a leader in importation,” says Aliko Dangote.
According to him, continuous investments in Nigeria and the rest of Africa was borne out of the fact that the country is a fertile ground for investment.
Indeed, in 2013, a Renaissance Capital research credited Dangote cement as a major force behind Nigeria’s feat in overtaking South Africa as the biggest cement manufacturer in Sub-Saharan Africa, as it marked the year with investments in cement plants across the continent.
Established in 1978, Dangote Group is an African conglomerate based in Nigeria, West Africa, with diversified interests.
