Dangote Cement Plc yesterday added a fillip to its
ongoing efforts at economic emancipation of Africa as it formally opened its
1.5mtpa capacity cement plant in Mfila, Congo, amid ecstasy by the government
and the people of the country.
The new plant estimated at $300 million has potential for
about 1,000 direct employment and thousands of several other indirect jobs.
Undoubtedly, the biggest plant in the country, Congo
President, Mr. Denis Sassou Nguesso, while inaugurating the plant said the
investment was an industrial revolution, sort of, within the Economic Community
of the Central African States (CEMAC), saying his country was happy to host the
investment.
According to him, his government has observed the
operations of Dangote cement in other African countries and it has helped
buoyed their economies by sparking off other allied industries, as he expressed
the hope that Congo situation would not be an exception.
The president described the coming on stream of the Dangote
cement as timely and encouraging because it starting operations at a time the
total government revenues have plummeted by 31.3 percent and revenues from the
oil sector have fallen 65.1 percent since 2015 due to a slide in global crude oil
prices.
President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented at the event
by a powerful delegation led by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr.
Kayode Fayemi, commended Alhaji Aliko Dangote and his cement company for
championing economic renaissance of Africa with the construction of cement
plants across several African countries, saying the sterling accomplishment
makes the Dangote Cement brand, and indeed Dangote himself worthy ambassadors
of Nigeria.
President Buhari said his government has
consistently supported and encouraged the Dangote Group in its quest to
contribute its quota to the economic emancipation of the African continent,
which is blessed with a plethora of natural resources.
“I believe that it is only home-grown practical
solutions that can address the myriad issues plaguing Africa today and one of
such challenges that Africa has been grappling with for decades is the
infrastructure deficit. I am confident that massive investments in cement
production, which is a key driver of infrastructural development, will contribute
in no small measure to addressing this perennial problem,” he said.
President Buhari recalled with satisfaction that local cement
manufacturers such as Dangote Cement, Lafarge and BUA, have exploited one of
the solid minerals, limestone, which is a basic input for cement production and
which Nigeria has in abundance, in different parts of the country to achieve
self-sufficiency in local cement production in 2015, and is now a net exporter
of the product.
“The backward integration policy of the federal government
in the cement sector, which was launched in 2002, has contributed to this
success story by successfully substituting imports with local production. We
have saved over $2billion spent on cement importation into Nigeria,
annually.
“We have also started using cement for road
construction in the country due to its numerous advantages over the more common
bituminous road. Again, in this area, Dangote Cement is leading the charge,
through AG-Dangote, its joint venture with Andrade-Gutierrez, a construction
giant in Brazil,” the Nigerian president stated.
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 tons per annum plant has
more than doubled the total cement production capacity of Congo, which now
stands at 2.550 million metric tons per annum, far in excess of national
demand.
“It is envisaged that this would contribute
substantially to the availability and affordability of cement in the country
and the Republic of 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,” he stated.
Dangote commended the Congolese Government, noting
that the bold economic reform measures
put in place by President Denis 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’s current economic renaissance
under the leadership of the President Nguesso.”
The company chairman pointed out that his organisation
received tremendous support and encouragement both from the government and the
people of Congo-Brazzaville, right from the conceptualisation stage of our
project, to its final completion, and commissioning.
In appreciation of the good gesture of the government
and the people, Dangote disclosed that without waiting to stabilise production,
the cement company had already commenced CSR projects with the construction of
a road with a length of 30kilometres around Yamba, which would have cost the
local government approximately 240 million CFA to execute.
He stated further “we have also disbursed scholarships for
students and we are also building a school and renovating a hospital within our
host communities. Apart from these, we have repaired a dilapidated bridge on a
major highway at a cost of $300,000, to enable heavy duty vehicles to cross the
bridge. As a policy, we also ensure that we give priority to qualified
indigenes from our local host communities in our recruitment drive.”
Dangote told the gathering that Dangote Cement total
production capacity across Africa at the end of May 2017, stood at 45.8 million
metric tons per annum, making it one of the biggest cement producers on the
continent, adding that the aspiration is to rank among the top 10 cement
producers in the world by 2020.
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