Dangote Cement's Congo plant nears completion

Dangote Cement Plc is close to completing its new US$300m cement grinding plant at Bouansa in the Republic of Congo and plans to commence production this month.

With the project the company hopes to boost its production capacity by at least 1.5Mta and help the Nigeria-based multinational achieve its target of being a major cement exporter on the continent.

The Plant Director for Congo Operations, Ganapathy Balasubramanian, stated that the Congo plant cost XAF133bn (US$300m). The new grinding plant will provide direct and indirect jobs for over 1600 people from within the country and other neighbouring countries.

Mr Balasubramanian added that Dangote Cement will be depend on an on-grid power system in meeting its energy needs, as 20MW are being supplied from the national grid, stressing that the factory has a potential utilisation profile of 90 per cent when it commences operations.

The new plant is in addition to the ongoing construction of a new 3Mta capacity cement grinding plant in Côte d'Ivoire. 

The Dangote Group also recently announced that it will be building new cement plants in two Nigerian communities of Okpella, Edo state and Itori, Ogun state. The forthcoming Nigerian plants are expected to add 12Mta to the company’s current local output of 29.3Mta, raising it to a total 41.3Mta.