Dangote pushing for domination

Bloomberg is reporting that Aliko Dangote is pushing to dominate Africa’s cement market. The material is the focus of the continent’s infrastructure boom.

The world’s biggest cement maker, a flood of low-priced imports, and the threat of slowing growth in contracts for dams, ports and roads will challenge Dangote in his bid for domination.

Dangote commented, “Africa’s future growth is intrinsically linked to cement”. The material is “the most basic input into building infrastructure.”

Dangote opened a new plant on the outskirts of Ndola, Zambia recently. The plant will help bring Dangote Cement Plc’s total production capacity to 43 million t by the end of this year, closing the distance to the capacity of market leader LafargeHolcim Ltd.

Dangote Cement plans to double potential output, to 80 million t, according to Dangote. The Ndola plant is one of five new factories that Dangote is opening this year across sub-Saharan Africa, including two in the LafargeHolcim strongholds of Cameroon and Zambia.

Africa has become one of the world’s fastest-growing regions for the building material as rapid urbanisation and spending on transport, power and shipping boost demand.

With 50 million t a year of cement capacity, LafargeHolcim is the largest producer in continental Africa. Domestic producers also must compete with cheap imports from countries including Pakistan.

Edited from source by Joseph Green. Source: Bloomberg

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/africa-middle-east/25082015/dangote-pushing-domination-africa-cement-433/