NIGERIA: 32.5 Cement Grade is for Plastering, Flooring Only

Management of Dangote Cement has revealed that its new variants of 32.5 grade of cement, was for plastering and flooring only. The company said, the clarification was in line with an earlier position of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), on the different grades of cement and their uses.

The recent categorisation of cement grades and applications by the SON, prescribed three grades of cement, 52.5, 42.5 and 32.5 for use in Nigeria. The directive was that 52.5 grade be used for bridges, 42.5 grade, for casting of columns, beams, slabs and making blocks (multipurpose), while 32.5 grade should be restricted to plastering and flooring.

Dangote Cement Plc said it was leveraging on the clear standards set by SON to push its own brand of 32.5 cement into the market for the benefits of its teeming customers who might want to plaster their houses or do the flooring. 

The Group Managing Director of the company, Mr. Devakumar V.G. Edwin, revealed last week that the decision to start producing the grade of cement was not in any way meant to take away the importance of the 42.5 grade which he said the company had been producing for the past nine years.

“SON has clearly given all cement manufacturers in the country producing the 32.5 grade of cement up till the end of this month (September) to, among other things clearly indicate on their cement bags that the grade of cement they are producing is only meant for plastering purposes only. We see this as a step in the right direction. Therefore, we believe that the time is right for us to start producing this grade of cement. This justifies what we have been clamouring for in the past months, and it underscores the high premium we place on safety,” he noted.

According to Edwin, with the addition of the fresh nine million capacity, comprising of six million metric tonnes in the Ibese plant and three million metric tonnes in the Obajana factory, Dangote has extended its capacity of integrated cement production in the country from about 20 million tonnes per annum, to around 29 million tonnes.

The managing director said the 32.5 cement grade from the stable of Dangote Cement was also to ensure consumers pay the right price for the right value so that consumers would not be paying more for lower grade as is presently the case.

The cement company noted that the move is to develop an array of cement types to meet the varied needs of consumers for the different grades of cement.