Dangote to Increase Investment in Cameroon With New Line

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed the company’s fresh investment drive towards expanding the output from its Douala plant from the current 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to over 3 mmtpa by investing in a similar plant in the vicinity of Yaounde.

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, and thanked 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.

According to him: “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 neighboring countries soon.” Aliko Dangote had also informed the prime Minister that the Group has already imported 220 trucks and trailers to resolve the present crisis of transport issues and now the cement can be delivered directly to the customers in the villages and the effects of it will be visible in respect of availability of cement at the right places and as a result may lead to a price stabilization. The importation of trucks will be creating jobs up to 5000 either directly or indirectly.

After Dangote’s foray into cement production in Cameroon, where other operators are also active, local production of the product is now set to outpace local consumption which presently stands at 3.2 mmtpa.

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.