Dangote opens $300m cement plant in Congo-Brazzaville, country's biggest

The Dangote group has opened a $300 million cement production plant in the Republic of Congo. The facility which has a capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum is expected to be the biggest such facility in the Central African country.

The plant is located at the Mfila area of the capital Brazzaville. The event which was graced by Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso brings to five the Dangote Group’s African footprints in the cement production business.

The Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari was represented by a government delegation led by the Mines and Steel Development Minister, Kayode Fayemi. He emphasized the Buhari administration’s desire to help indigenous companies to thrive.

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote who was present for the event also commended the Congolese government for its economic decisions in the wake of fall in global commodity prices. He also announced that the group was aiming at becoming one of the top global 10 producers of the product.

Speaking on the new plant Dangote said: “It is envisaged that this will contribute substantially to the availability and affordability of cement in the country and the Republic of the Congo will no longer need to depend on imports to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

“It is our hope that the inauguration of the plant will boost Congo’s economy, conserve foreign exchange that would otherwise have been spent on imports for the country, and create employment opportunities down the value chain.”

Dangote cement has so far commissioned cement plants in four African countries namely: Ethiopia, Zambia, Cameroun and Tanzania. The Congo-Brazzaville plant, which began operations in the third quarter of 2017, will be the fifth cement plant that would be inaugurated in the last two years.