Nigeria has attained self-sufficiency in the production of cement and is now an exporter of the commodity, as confirmed by reports from the Federal Government.
Dangote Cement which spare headed the backward integration policy introduced by the government is said to be the main reason this feat is performed.
In view of this, the Nigerian government has indicated satisfaction with the leadership roles played by Dangote Cement in putting a working policy in the cement
industry.
Already, the Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement, Onne Van der Weijde declared that the Company had commenced exportation of Cement to Nigeria’s neighbouring
countries.
He said Dangote Cement exported nearly 0.4Mt into neighbouring countries and in doing so, achieved a great milestone by transforming Nigeria into a net exporter of cement. He also praised Nigeria because five years, the country was one of the world’s largest importers, buying 5.1Mt of foreign cement at huge expense to balance of
payments.
Good news for Nigerians, as the Federal government moves to diversify the economy away from oil. At the present time, the two areas of interest are agriculture and mining operations across the country.
Dangote Cement is reputed to be Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 46Mta capacity across Africa, a fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer with production capacity of 29.25Mta in Nigeria. The company also operates the largest coal mining to generate power as alternative to gas since the supply of gas has been
plagued with incessant disruptions. The company looks forward to increasing their supply of cement in 2017.
