DANGOTE CEMENT COMMISSIONS NEW CONGO PLANT

Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote.

Africa’s largest cement Company, Dangote Cement recently opened its 1.5mtpa capacity cement plant in Mfila, Congo Brazzaville.

The $300 million plant is expected to create about 1000 direct employment opportunities and thousands of several other indirect jobs.

Speaking at the plant’s inauguration President Denis Sassou Nguesso said the investment was an industrial revolution within the Economic Community of the Central African States (CEMAC).

The Congolese President described the opening of the Dangote cement plant as timely and encouraging because it is starting operations at a time the total government revenues have plummeted by 31.3% and revenues from the oil sector have fallen 65.1% since 2015 due to a slide in global crude prices.

Doubling cement production

Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote in his address said his company was delighted to have completed the plant on schedule saying the addition of Dangote Cement’s 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum plant has more than doubled the total cement production capacity of Congo-Brazzaville, which now stands at 2.550 million metric tonnes per annum, far in excess of national demand.

“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.

Boosting the economy

“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,” he stated.

Dangote commended the Congolese government noting that the bold economic reform measures put in place by President Denis Sassou Nguesso administration have been quite salutary.

“The construction industry, which is a major sector of the economy, is a beneficiary of his policies, and has been receiving the attention of investors. We believe that our investment will contribute to Congo-Brazzaville’s current economic renaissance under the leadership of the President Nguesso.”

infrastructurene.ws