Dangote Group signs $4 billion deal with China, eyes new markets
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Nigeria’s Dangote Cement has agreed to a $4.34 billion deal with China’s construction giant, Sinoma International Engineering Company, to build integrated cement plants in 11 countries over the next two years.
RELATED: Dangote doubles Zambian investment to $900 million
The new cement production targets include Ethiopia, Zambia, Senegal, Niger, Mali, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, and Ghana. The company is also seeking to open two plants in Kenya, while expanding out of the continent into Nepal, where it plans to construct a plant with a 3 million tonne annual output.
Combined, these facilities will add 25 million tonnes to Dangote’s 71 million tonne annual output and will be completed within 30 months. The company is now targeting a capacity of 100 million metric tonnes over the next five years.
RELATED: Dangote cements victory in African market with new plant in Senegal
Dangote said that his company’s investments were inextricably linked to growth, wherever the location, and hinted at further expansion. He said: ‘‘Infrastructure is not commensurate with population (growth) and there would not be infrastructure without cement. We are looking at countries where there is need; we won’t go where there is no need.”
In July, Dangote Cement stated the contribution to sales outside Nigeria increased to 14 percent of total revenue by June 30 from 3 percent this time last year.
RELATED: Dangote Cement to Enter 14th African Country with Tanzanian Power Plant
The company faces competition from main rival Lafarge Africa, which combined its South African operations with its Nigerian business to form a vehicle for competitive expansion.
The Dangote Group has a diverse revenue base alongisde its cement operations, spanning from oil to sugar production; it employs over 25,000 people across its businesses and its owner, Aliko Dangote, is Africa's wealthiest man.
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SOURCES: [Reuters, Mail and Guardian]
