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Dangote Cement has started recording gains of its expansion outside Nigeria with about 42% of its volumes sold outside the country in July, according to statement released by the firm at the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Onne van der Weijde, Chief Executive, Dangote Cement said the development demonstrated both the speed of our expansion and the rapidly increasing diversity of its operations across Africa.
“Furthermore, as we have previously indicated, we are expanding beyond Africa for the first time by opening a plant in Nepal, which is an exciting growth market with great potential for domestic and export sales,” he said
The company also supplied information to confirm to contracts being signed for their construction as a follow up to the expansion announced last week.
Specifically, the company announced its medium-term intention to build a 1.5mtpa plant in Zimbabwe, subject to obtaining the necessary approvals.
Excluding the proposed plant in Zimbabwe, the new projects are expected to cost $4.34 billion and will be funded through a mix of internally generated funds, debt finance and vendor credit.
The CEO said, “This is a major investment in the future of Dangote Cement and in the future of Africa. Many of these projects are expansions of factories we have recently opened in markets that have great potential and where we have already demonstrated we can gain a strong foothold in a short space of time. Our new plants in South Africa, Senegal and Ethiopia, for example, have ramped up to almost full capacity since opening and have already gained substantial shares in their respective markets.
“This huge commitment reflects our confidence that Africa’s growth will need millions of tonnes of cement in the coming decades and our investment in growth strengthens our position as the continent’s leading supplier.”
“We will enter new markets in Niger, Mali and Zimbabwe and are confirming our intention to open capacity in Kenya.”
By Pita Ochai
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