Nigeria’s Dangote Cement has opened its sixth offshore cement plant in Ethiopia. This follows the other plants sited in Senegal, Cameroun, Ghana, South Africa, and Zambia.
The cement company owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, commissioned the 2.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) plant on Thursday 4th of June in Mugher, 80km from the country’s capital Addis Ababa.
The inauguration ceremony was graced with several Nigerian business leaders and government officials led by Ethipia Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn.
The prime minister praised Ethiopia’s rapid economic development, crediting the unprecedented growth of the nation’s economy to the inflow of massive foreign investments to the country.
According to the Prime Minister, “Within a short time, we have become one of the fastest growing economies in the world, yet we have only just scratched the surface. The amount of foreign investment entering the country will continue to increase, taking advantage of the comparative and competitive edge that Ethiopia provides.”
In his response, Dangote said the company is currently simultaneously setting up new cement plants and terminals across 16 African countries including Ethiopia, in pursuit of the long term target of becoming one of the world’s biggest cement producers.
He also said, “We believe that manufacturing and not trading is the best way to grow an economy. This event which we are witnessing today attests to the fact that we took the right decision when we decided to transit from a trading company in our home country Nigeria into manufacturing in 1996.
“It might interest you to know that we are now not only self-sufficient in cement production in Nigeria where Dangote accounts for over 60 per cent of the market, we now also export cement.”
