Dangote breaks ground on new Niger plant

Dangote Cement has broken ground on a new a 1Mta cement factory in Niger, state radio in the western African country announced on Thursday.

President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou formally started building work on the factory on Wednesday at Keita, around 600km northeast of the capital Niamey. The CFA200m (US$421.35m) plant is expected to take 18 months to complete.

"This is an important event after the railway project started on 7 April last year. This cement factory will contribute a lot to the economic development of Niger," Issoufou said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

"Niger is for now a cement importer but when this project comes on-stream it will become a cement exporter," he said. (Source: Reuters)