Dangote invests in Tanzania

Aliko Dangote

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, continues to expand his business footprint in Africa.

Dangote Cement’s new plant currently under construction in Tanzania is expected to help fill the cement supply gap in the country, this according to a new report by the Tanzania Investment Center. The cement deficit in Tanzania peaked at 1 million tonnes in 2011, however, the new Dangote plant is expected to alleviate this.

It is projected that initially, the new Dangote Cement plant will produce approximately 2 million tonnes per annum and create up to 400 jobs.

Dangote Cement continues to be Africa’s biggest producer of the building material.

Dangote Cement’s production target is expected to hit 60 million tons a year by 2015 from the 28 million tons produced at present – a 114 percent increase, with production capacity outside Nigeria expected to reach 22 million metric tons per annum by the end of 2013.

Dangote Cement reported in July that its pretax profit for the first half of 2012 grew by 23 percent year-on-year to N71.3 billion (US$451 million), from N58.1 billion (US$368 million) in 2012.

Dangote Cement revenue climbed to N142 billion (US$ 899 million) during the period, compared with N112.7 billion (US$713 million) a year ago.