Monday, May 12, 2014

NIGERIA: Dangote Moves to Reduce Cement Price in Nigeria

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said that nine million tonnes of cement have been released into the market to stem the escalating cost of the product.

Mr. Dangote, who disclosed this to journalists on Friday at the premises of Obajana Cement Company in Kogi State, said that the move was to make the product available in all parts of the country and stabilise its prices in the open market.

The businessman, who spoke after conducting the visiting President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, on a facility tour of the plant attributed the scarcity of cement in recent times to low production between January and March.

He said the low production followed the yearly turn around maintenance of the plants at Ibeshe, Obajana and other parts of the country.

He assured Nigerians that the price of cement will drop to its normal price of between N1, 450 and N1, 550 very soon.

Mr. Dangote said that the president of Tanzania was at the cement plant to see things first hand and to enable him have a fore-taste of the kind of cement plant the company was replicating in his country.

He said the plant, being established in Tanzania at a cost of $600 million, would have the capacity to produce three million tonnes of cement per annum.

He said the construction work at the plant has reached 30 per cent completion stage and work is being intensified to ensure its completion and inauguration in 2015.

In his remarks, President Kikwete said that he took time off the World Economic Forum holding in Abuja to visit the plant to have an idea of what his country would experience after the completion of the plant.

He described what he saw as "wonderful," saying that his country was looking forward to seeing the same or better facilities.

He said the visit had further convinced him that Tanzania has a great partner in Mr. Dangote.

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