Dangote to build cement plants in 18 African countries

Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, has disclosed plans to build cement plants in 18 African countries, including Nepal in Asia to make the continent import-dependent free.

Dangote made the announcement at the commissioning of 3.0 million metric tonne per annum (MTPA) cement plant at Mgao village in Mtwara, Tanzania.

He said the entire Africa firms, which would produce more than 80MTPA of cement, was to make Africa an export continent rather than import-dependent .

He said the cement plant, which was the largest in Africa after Nigeria, was to stimulate the continent’s growth and create more jobs for its huge population.

According to him, it is time Africans take their destiny in their hands by investing their huge resources in their fatherland.

Dangote said the firm was located in Tanzania because of abundant natural raw material that would not only keep it for close to 50 years but improve the country’s economic growth.

He said the company had given out a 500,000 dollar grant to the active poor in the host communities to start business of their own while schools and markets would also be built there.

He said Tanzania had an abundance of limestone, a major input for the production of cement, adding that the abundance of this vital raw material encouraged the citing of the project.

“With our Mtwara plant in full production and local production of cement in excess of demand, there will be no further need for the country to expend scarce foreign exchange on clinker and cement importation,” he said.

“We are here to create wealth and provide jobs for Tanzanians. Infact, one of our key strengths lies in our ability to understand the peculiar needs of Africans and how to do business successfully on the continent.

“That is why we have made Africa the centerpiece of our multi-billion dollar investments.

“We believe that it is only Africans who can develop Africa. We are also motivated to create an African success story because we believe that entrepreneurship holds the key to the future economic growth of the continent.

“As a growing continent, the developmental challenges of Africa are quite enormous and require concerted efforts to overcome them.

“This is why private companies should complement the government’s efforts. It is in this light that we are here to contribute our own quota to transform the Tanzanian economy.”

He said in October 2010, Dangote Cement Plc was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), making it the biggest listed company not only in Nigeria but also in West Africa.

“We plan to do a listing in London and Johannesburg in the near future. Our intention is to consolidate our cement assets into one company that will have the scale and resources to compete globally.”

He lauded Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, president of the country, for providing the enabling environment that made the project possible.

On his part, Kikwete lauded Dangote for boosting the economy of Tanzania, adding the investment was the largest the country had ever received from an African.

Dangote Cement has so far built and commissioned cement plants in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Zambia, Ethiopia, while that of Senegal and South Africa will be commissioned before the end of the year.