Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian billionaire and chairman of Dangote Industries, announced the group would expand its investment in Ethiopia.
The billionaire already has a cement factory in Ethiopia, which he built at the cost of 600 million USD and installed a production capacity of 2.5 million tons. The factory commenced production in June 2015.
Commenting on the development, the company’s sales and marketing head, Mesfin Abera, said Dangote Industries decided to expand its project at the existing plant. The expansion work will be carried out at the cost of 600 million USD and have an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tons, he furthered.
“We now have 134 hectares of land and we need only an additional 18 hectares. We submitted our request to the Oromiya Regional State and we have got a positive response,” Mesfin noted.
Commenting on the issue of excess cement supply in the market, Mesfin said, “We do not worry about the market. We have conducted a thorough market study. This country is growing in a double digit. Massive infrastructure development projects are being undertaken. If the development plans set in the second growth and transformation plan are properly implemented, there will be no market problem. The market situation does not worry us.”
According to him, the company is in quest of new markets. It has already started exporting cement to Northern Kenya. Since February it exported 2200 tons of cement that is worth 240,000 USD. In addition to this, the company is undertaking market studies to expand to South Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti.
Other than the cement factory plant, Dangote is planning to construct a cement bag factory across the cement manufacturing plant in Muger City. The cement bag factory will be built at a cost of 19 million USD and it will have a production capacity of 120 million cement bags per annum.
Dangote will only use 30 to 35 percent of the cement bags it manufactures. The rest will be supplied to local cement factories.
Currently there are around 20 cement factories in Ethiopia. However, it is only Messebo that manufactures its own cement bag.
Mesfin explained Dangote would expand its cement bag plant to PP bags manufacturing. “Once we have completed the first bag plant we will build the second phase that will produce different PP bags for other purposes,” he said.
Source: The Reporter
