AFRICA: NIGERIA: Dangote provides 70% of Nigeria ’s cement as producers target 20million MT by 2012

With the addition of six million metric tons (MT) of cement to be generated from the new Ibese Cement Plant in Ogun State , the Dangote Group is expected to provide 70% of the total target of 20 million metric tons from all cement producing companies in Nigeria.

Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, while conducting the Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun round the six million tons per annum capacity facility, said the Ibese new cement plant is expected to provide over 7,000 jobs.

“The national consumption hovers around 18 million tons per annum and by the first quarter of next year, all the cement companies in the country would have been producing up to 20million tons per annum, with the Dangote Cement accounting for over 70 per cent of it,” Dangote noted.

Dangote said the opportunities would come both through direct and indirect jobs, while also promising to continue to lead other investors to ensure Nigeria becomes an industrial giant nation that is self-sufficient in production, rather than being a leader in importation.

He assured that with his Group’s massive investments in cement production would enable Nigerians enjoy reduced prices, while the nation would become exporter of the commodity to other countries.

Business Day gathered that the firm’s expansion project in Obajana, Kogi State , and the construction of Ibese Cement Plant would inject about 17 million tons into the market annually. The company has already commenced the construction of some facilities to actualise the export dream.

But by first quarter of 2012, with expansion projects going on in both Dangote Group and Lafarge, which are major cement manufacturers in the country, production is expected to reach 20 metric tones.

He further observed that his continuous investment in Nigeria and the rest of Africa was borne out of the fact that the country was a fertile ground for investment and that no one outside Africa would be genuinely determined to develop Africa except Africans themselves.

He explained the efforts put into the multi- million dollar plant as worthy when perceived from the standpoint of the fact that there is the need for job and wealth creation in the country adding that these two critical necessities could only be achieved through manufacturing.

The Dangote President pledged that he would look into other areas where the group could further create jobs and wealth for the citizenry and that agriculture holds the ace. He further stated that he has invested in some other areas in agriculture like fertiliser, to help the farmers and to provide jobs, while striving to create an industrial giant nation through investments in manufacturing.

He appealed to the Ogun State government to help in the provision of security for the investments, saying though the host community of Ibese and others have been very cooperative, government should help in putting in place security arrangements for the business to thrive.

Joseph Makoju, Chairman of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria had earlier told Business Day that the manufacturers do not expect less that 60% performance from most of the new plants in 2012. “Investments in the industry are ongoing and if the government continues with the strict implementation of the backward integration policy, our expectation is that more new entrants will come into the business of cement manufacturing and the present tempo of growth in the cement industry will be sustained”.