Dangote commissions $400m cement, coal plants in Zambia

Dangote cement plant in Zambia – Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was in Zambia on a one-day official visit, commissioned a 1.5 million tonnes Dangote Cement Plant and 30 megawatts (mw) coal-fired power plant in Ndola yesterday.

Dangote Group, yesterday, strengthened the bilateral trade between Nigeria and Zambia with the official opening of the Group’s $400 million cement plant, with installed capacity of 1.5 million metrics tonne per annum, and a 30 megawatts coal plant to power the factory.

The greenfield project was commissioned by Zambian President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, at Masasiti district, Ndola, Zambia along side Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Edo state Governor, Adams Oshiomole; Tony Elumelu, Chairman UBA Plc; Chief Kola Jamodu, Chairman Nestle Nigeria Plc; and Niyi Adebayo, former Governor Ekiti state, among other personalities from Nigeria and Zambia.

Speaking at the event, Vice President Osinbajo said that the projects are very significant to bilateral relationship that has exists between Nigeria and Zambia.

He lauded the government of Zambia and the people for having approved the projects and saw it to completion.

President Lungu also noted that Zambia has continuing cordial bilateral relationships with Nigeria over the years, assuring that his government will continue to encourage private sector initiatives. “I invite other investors to genuinely come and invest in other sectors in Zambia,” he said.

In his speech at the occasion, President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said that the Zambian cement plant was the sixth out of his14 cement plants in Africa to have started productions, adding that four new plants will be commissioned before the end of the year. “We are spearheading the economic revolution in several African countries, we are a strong advocate of Africans investing in Africa,” he said.

Engr. Joseph Makoju, Special Adviser to President/CEO,   Dangote Group,   said that with the investment,   Nigeria can proudly claim to be the economic leader in Africa. He noted that the event is more about economic diplomacy rather than political diplomacy.  “What Dangote is doing here is strengthening Nigeria’s position indisputably as a leader of Africa, economically and politically, “ he said.

Tony Elumelu lauded Dangote for the feat, describing him as the only private sector investor driving cross-border investments in Africa. “This is economic diplomacy and Dangote is helping to foster bilateral relationship between the countries in Africa,” he said.

Governor Oshiomole, also hailed Dangote for playing pioneering role of Africans investing in Africa, and creating jobs across the continent. “Politicians make noise about creating jobs. Dangote doesn’t make noise but goes about creating jobs. He is providing economic bridges to promote peace and unity through his investments in Africa,” he added.

As Dangote Cement Plc opens its new cement plant in the Southern African nation of Zambia yesterday, the company’s total output is expected to hit 45 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) on the African continent.
The company’s cement factories in Nigeria lead the way with a combined capacity of 29.25mmtpa from three massive plants in the North-central and South-west regions of the country.
The Obajana cement plant in Kogi State, which is the largest single cement plant in Africa, produces 13.25mmtpa from four lines, dwarfing all other cement plants on the continent. This is closely followed by the Ibese cement plant in Ogun State, which also runs four lines with a combined annual output of 12mmtpa.
Dangote’s smallest plant in Nigeria is the Benue Cement Company (BCC) acquired from the federal government in Gboko, Benue State, with a capacity of 4mmtpa.
The three Dangote plants in Nigeria produce a combined output of 29.25mmtpa, representing about 60 per cent of the total cement produced locally, with smaller producers in the country like Lafarge, BUA and UNICEM accounting for the remaining 40 per cent local production.

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Apart from Nigeria, Dangote owns cement plants in other countries in Africa comprising Ghana, Cameroun, Senegal, Ethiopia, Congo, Cote d’ Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Niger, Mali and Zambia.
While the company is already producing cement in Zambia, Ethiopia, South Africa, Senegal, Cameroun, Ghana and of course Nigeria, new plants in the other African nations have reached advanced stages of construction, with many to be commissioned before the end of 2017, the report said.
Expansion of some of the already operational plants such as the plant in Ethiopia is currently ongoing.
Dangote Cement plants in Africa puts Nigeria at 29.25mmtpa, Cameroun – 1.5mmtpa; Congo – 1.5mmtpa; Cote d’ Ivoire – 1.5mmtpa; Ghana – 1.5mmtpa; Liberia – 0.5mmtpa; Senegal – 1.5mmtpa; Sierra Leone – 0.7mmtpa; Ethiopia – 2.5mmtpa operational and another 2.5mmtpa under construction; South Africa – 3.3mmtpa; Tanzania – 3.0mmtpa; and Zambia 1.5mmtpa.
Expected output for green field plants in Kenya, Niger and Mali are yet to be released by the company.