Dangote Cement will complete five of its plants in five Africa countries before the end of this year, it has been learnt.
The completion of the plants is part of the group’s expansion programme to make cement available to most parts of the continent.
The group’s President/Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the plants would add about 13.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA).
The plants are in Zambia, with 1.5 MMTPA; Tanzania, 1.5 MMTPA; South-Africa 3 MMTPA; Republic of Congo, 1.5 MMTPA; and Gabon 1.5 MMTPA.
In Nigeria, Dangote Cement is working on the third and fourth production lines to the existing six MMTPA in Ibese, Ogun State. The plant’s capacity is being expanded to produce 12 MMTPA.
The Obajana plant in Kogi State will add three MMTPA before the end of the year.
Addressing a group of African businessmen at the weekend, Dangote said the group’s core business focus was to provide local, value-added products and services to meet the needs of the populace through the construction and operation of large scale manufacturing facilities across Africa.
Dangote said the group was building local manufacturing to create jobs, prevent capital flight and provide quality products.
He explained that Obajana was the largest cement plant in sub-Sahara Africa, with 10.25 MMTPA and an additional three MMTPA before end of the year.
Dangote said the group would continue to lead other investors to ensure that Nigeria became an industrial giant nation with self-sufficiency in production rather than becoming a leader in importation.
He said: “This, indeed, shows that Africa is gradually taking its destiny in its own hands, rather than waiting for investors from outside Africa. Investment in the real sector is the only way that our continent can achieve accelerated growth and development.
“The developmental challenges of Africa are quite tremendous. According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, in June 2010, Africa requires $46 billion yearly to meet infrastructural needs. It is obvious that African governments alone cannot hope to meet this demand due to the various competing needs in other aspects of the economy.
“We are motivated to create an African success story because we believe that entrepreneurship, especially our own home-grown African entrepreneurship, holds the key to the future economic growth of the continent.
“The fact that Africa offers one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) in the world is an additional incentive for any discerning investor who can take calculated risks.”
The group’s president assured that with massive investments in cement production, Nigerians would not only enjoy reduced price stability but would also become exporters of the commodity to other countries.
Dangote explained that the group’s continuous investments in Nigeria and the rest of Africa was borne out of the fact that the country was a fertile ground for investments and that no one outside Africa would be genuinely determined to develop Africa except African themselves.
He said the efforts put into the multi-million dollar plants was worthy because there is need for job and wealth creation in the country.
According tom him, both critical necessities can only be achieved through manufacturing.
Dangote promised the group’s commitment to job and wealth creation for Africans, adding that agriculture held the key to the continent’s future.
He said this informed the group’s decision to venture into fertiliser production to help poor farmers.
The Dangote Group is an emerging African conglomerate based in Nigeria with branches in West Africa.
It started as a trading company in 1978 with cement, sugar, salt, pasta, beverages and real estate. The group has new projects underway in the oil and gas sector.
Some of the group’s 13 subsidiaries are listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). They include: cement, sugar, salt and flour.
The Dangote Group is fully involved in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through Dangote Foundation.
