Dangote Cement to expand Into Asia

Byszheng

Updated 2016-05-30

At the commissioning of the 3.0 million metric tonne per annum cement plant in Mgao Village, Mtwara, Tanzania, Africa’s richest man and Chairman Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote announced his plans to build cement plants in 18 African countries, to include a factory in Nepal, Asia.

In 2013, the Nigerian cement producer had expressed interest in setting up a plant in Surkhet district in western Nepal and though several international investors approached the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN)with investment interests, Dangote was the first to have made a concrete push by formally tabling a proposal. Dangote Cement – Africa’s largest cement manufacturer –has been targeting a radical expansion plan across Africa.

According to him, it is time for Africans to step up to the challenge by investing more. He also stated that the entire Africa firms, set to produce more than 80MTPA of cement, was in a bid to promote Africa as an export continent rather than import-dependent. “Our intention is to consolidate our cement assets into one company that will have the scale and resources to compete globally.”

In order to make African nations less import-dependent, Dangote is poised to launch new plants throughout Africa to reach the capacity of 62 million tonnes a year in the next three years. The Tanzania plant has abundant natural raw materials that would keep the firm on for more than 49 years while boosting the country’s steady economic growth.

For the host communities, the company had given out a 500,000 dollar grant to help fund small start-ups owned by the active poor while schools and markets would be built in the various communities. Dangote commended President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete for providing such an enabling environment that has made the project possible.

Dangote cement has so far built and commissioned cement plants in Ghana, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Zambia, while that of Senegal and South Africa are set to be commissioned at the end of the year. Africa’s biggest cement producer, the firm recorded a turnover of N386.2 billion ($2.3 billion) in 2013. Should Dangote succeed in his audacious expansion plans, his total cement production will climb to 60 million tons, by far the most in Africa.

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