Dangote Cement to double Cameroon’s production capacity to 3m

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has unveiled plans by the company to inject fresh investment towards expanding the production output from its Douala plant from the current 1.5 million metric tonnes yearly to over three million by investing in a similar plant in the vicinity of Yaounde.

According to a statement, Dangote during his recent visit to Cameroon met the Prime Minister Philemon Yang , Minister of Industry , Mines and Technological development, Emmanuel Bonde and the Minister of Trade, Luc magloire Mbarga Atangana, commended the government for creating an enabling environment for cement production in the country.

He said the company is already in the process of signing a contract for the construction of the additional cement production line, in anticipation of a growing demand for cement occasioned by massive investment in infrastructure.

He said: “The successful completion of Dangote Cement’s 1.5 mmtpa plant in Douala, Cameroon, made the country self-sufficient in cement production, as plans have commenced for the export of the product to neighbouring countries soon.”

Aliko Dangote had also informed the prime Minister that the Group has already imported 220 trucks and trailers to resolve logistics issue adding that importation of trucks will be creating jobs up to 5000 either directly or indirectly.

Dangote however urged the Cameroonian government to continue to formulate policies that make investments thrive, saying such investment-friendly policies encouraged him to bring investment into Cameroon in the first place.

While commending the government for attracting investors into Cameroon, Dangote also appealed to them to consider creating an environment that will help protect and sustain the investment in order to ensure viability and good returns.

He said: “In this direction, we want to inform you that today with the commissioning of our plant, the total local production capacity is now 3.2 mmtpa. This is now sufficient to meet local demand and continued importation of cement into the local market in Cameroon will need to be reviewed, especially as the imports come mainly from countries who seem to have policies that encourage dumping of their excess capacity in other countries at highly subsidised prices.

“If there is a conducive environment that allows investment to thrive, the investors will be encouraged to reinvest in output expansion to meet rising demand. This is our policy everywhere we operate and Cameroon will not be an exception.”

Meanwhile, to aid government’s diversification agenda, Dangote has challenged investors to raise their stakes in the nation’s manufacturing and agriculture sectors through fresh investments.

Lamenting the nation’s heavy dependence on oil to the detriment of other viable sectors, Dangote urged Nigerian and international businessmen to lead in the task of diversifying the economy, describing the move as the only viable option to the current economic quagmire.

He explained that the situation in Nigeria in which some states could not be meet their obligation to civil servants calls for concerted efforts to move the economy away from its present one sector dominance to other areas like agriculture, mining and manufacturing.