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LAGOS. — Dangote Cement outlined massive expansion plans that would culminate in the firm becoming the continent’s largest supplier of the product in the coming years. The company, owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, plans to commission plants in several countries thereby boosting production to 50 million tonnes per annum.

Unfolding the company’s future plans,  Devakumar Edwin, the company’s chief executive said his company’s plant in Senegal would soon be producing cement alongside their South African venture, Sephaku Cement, which he said was well on track to open in the early part of 2014.

“These two plants will be our first production ventures outside Nigeria as we aim to become Africa’s leading supplier of cement,” Edwin said.

He stated that in Ethiopia, work was well underway to build a 2,5mta plant at Mugher, with production expected early in 2015.

In Tanzania, Dangote Cement has begun work on a 3mta gas-fired plant at Mtwara that is expected to be operational in October 2015. In Zambia, work is underway on a 1,5mta plant at Ndola, with cement production expected in mid-2014. Building work is progressing with a 1,5mta grinding plant in Cameroon, with completion expected in the first half of 2014.

In Congo, Dangote will build an integrated plant of 1,5mta expected to begin production in the second quarter of 2016.

Edwin said the company would also build a 1,5mta plant in South Sudan, to become operational in 2016, as well as a 1,5mta integrated facility in Kenya.

Along the coast of West Africa, Edwin said the group had concluded plans to build import facilities to receive and bag bulk cement produced in Nigeria and Senegal and that work has begun on import facilities in

Sierra Leone, with operations expected to begin towards the end of 2013 or in early 2014. — CAJ News.