The Dangote Cement Plc has commenced the construction of a new cement grinding plant in Cote d’Ivoire. The cement plant will produce 3 million metric tonnes of cement per annum.
The cement plant is being erected on over 60 hectares of land, next to the New Industrial Park in Yongbon, a city just outside Abidjan, the nation’s capital.
The grinding plant is made up of 2 lines and when completed each line will produce 1.5million metric tonnes of cement. The plant production is expected to double the total capacity of local cement production in the francophone West African nation. The plant will also raise the country’s total local cement production capacity by over 100%.
However, the plant will utilise power off the grid and create direct and indirect jobs for over 3,000 people within the nation and other West African countries.
According to Devakumar Edwin, Dangote Group Executive Director, Strategy, Projects and Portfolio Management, the Cote d’Ivoire project will be completed in 18 months’ time at a cost of US$200m. He further said the project has greatly aroused a lot of interest from both the government and people of Cote d’Ivoire. AlsoNigerian experts will be deployed to carryout initial training of local manpower and skill transfer.
The Cote d’Ivoire cement plant project comes after the company yet again announced the groundbreaking ceremony of a new six million metric tonnes per annum Greenfield cement plant in Okpella, Edo State as well as 6 million metric tonnes per annum capacity plant in Itori, Ogun State.
The project is being undertaken by AyokiFabricon, a mechanical and civil engineering company based in Pune, India. Tyssen Krupp, a German steel firm is also a sub-contractor.
Ayokiwas established in 1984 andhas been involved in fabrication, erection and commissioning of cement, boiler, distillery,power, sugar, and material handling projects both in India and abroad. The company has executed fabrication, erection and commissioning services of several plants for their clients such as Aditya Birla Group, Lafarge, JK cement Group, Jaypee Group and Ambuja Cements.
Dangote Cement Plc current local output production is at 31.25mmtpa, raising it to a total 41.25mmtpa. However, Okpella, Edo State and Itori, Ogun state cement plants are expectedto add 12 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa).
The Okpella plant will have two cement lines which will churn out 3mmtpa each, while the Itori plant will deliver approximately 3mmtpa from two production lines. Both plants are expected to come on stream within the next three years.
Dangote Cement Plc expansion drive is targeted at expanding its spread nationwide and reducing the transportation cost component of its operations. The new investments will rather lower the production cost bring about a future reduction in the price of cement, and generate employment opportunities for youths of the host communities.
Please, can I buy cement directly from the factory it’s self as a retailer