Dangote’s 52.5 grade cement to spur industry competition

Ahead of its “Dangote Cement 1X” 32.5 grade cement launch, Africa’s largest cement producer, Dangote Cement Plc, says it is currently working on producing a 52.5 grade cement for specialised construction of high-strength structures such as bridges and flyovers.

This was announced at a press conference organised to introduce the launch of the “Dangote Cement 1X” 32.5 grade cement, which, according to the company, would sell N200 lower than the price of the higher-strength 42.5 grade.

The cement producer recently launched the 42.5 grade in response to the incessant collapse of buildings, which the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) attributed to poor quality cement, among various other factors.

Dangote, which has operations in 16 African nations, said the soon-to-be launched “Dangote Cement 1X” would be clearly marked in the colour prescribed by the SON with the uses for which it should be applied, which is purely for plastering and flooring.

The higher 42.5 grade, on the other hand, will be used for column and beam casting, block making, decking and other general purpose construction work that require high strength.

Speaking on the launch of the new product, group managing director of the Dangote Cement Plc, Devakumar Edwin said the “Dangote Cement 1X” 32.5 grade cement was produced in response to popular demand from the customers and in full compliance with the SON directive encouraging production of all grades of cement but with clear labelling on the use.

Edwin said the company is currently reviewing the selling prices of its products with intent to reduce them and make the products more available in the market.

This, he said, would ensure that customers are paying the right value for lower grade cement as is presently the case in the market.

Dangote cement recently added 6million metric tons per annum lines 3 and 4 in its Ibese plant and another 3 million metric ton capacity at its Obajana plant in Kogi state.  The addition of 9 million tonnes of cement enabled the company to increase its cement production from about 20 million tonnes per annum, to around 29 million tonnes.

This has also led to an increased supply of cement to the nation’s market and a price reduction of around N100 per 50kg bag of cement.

“We have significantly increased the supply of cement to the market and as it is expected, the enhancement in supply of the product to the market has also resulted to a reasonable reduction in the price of the product,” Edwin said.

Nigeria’s economic boom has spurred the demand for cement especially for the construction of office buildings, road and other concrete structure.

While the consumption of cement has risen by about 7 per cent in the last five years, research and investment company, Renaissance Capital, expects consumption to increase by 11 per cent to 43 million tonnes by the year 2020.