Nigeria: Govt Partners Dangote On Obajana-Kabba Road

The Federal Government is ready to partner with the Dangote Group of Companies towards the completion of the 61 kilometre Obajana-Kabba road in Kogi State.

The Minister of State for Works, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, said this in Abuja while receiving the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, in his office.

He said the government had completed 20 kilometres of the road and would ensure the workability of the partnership in the interest of Nigerians.

He said the ministry had advocated such a collaborative effort towards the attainment of the transformational agenda of the incumbent administration.

Earlier in his remarks, Dangote explained the importance of the road to the Obajana Cement factory which, according to him, is in the process of increasing production output to one truck per minute.


3 die, 50 BCC trucks burnt in Benue: Aliko Dangote Business Owner

By PETER DURU
MAKURDI—NO fewer than 50 heavy duty trucks were yesterday set ablaze at the Benue Cement Company, BCC, in Gboko following a sharp disagreement between two factions of the trailer drivers’ union operating within the factory site.

Eyewitnesses in Gboko said the crisis erupted at the factory site of the company owned by business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, when a truck belonging to one of the factions allegedly lost control apparently due to brake failure and ran over a commercial motorbike operator carrying one of the factional leaders killing, both of them on the spot.

The accident sparked a major crisis between the factionsresulting in the mayhem that has left altogether, about threepersons dead. The feuding factional unions later blocked the Gboko-Makurdi Federal Highway attacking commuters on the route.

The ensuing crisis has left the entire Tse-Kucha community in total disarray as residents have been moving out to other areas for safety. An attempt by reporters to access the point of protest was unsuccessful due to the chaotic situation as stranded motorists blocked the road, while several other motorists were making u-turn and running towards the direction of Makurdi, the state capital.

Meanwhile Governor Gabriel Suswam has condemned the crisis in Gboko, expressing displeasure at the development. Asking the combatants to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign in the town, Suswam said: “This crisis is condemnable, all parties to the dispute must sheath their swords and allow the law take its course”.

Meanwhile, the Governor has ordered law enforcement agencies to step into the crisis zone to restore peace and order in the troubled town, even as attempts to get the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ejike Alaribe, to comment on the development proved abortive as he could not be reached on phone.

Why We’re Involved In Education Sector – Dangote

President of the Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote said that his group was supporting the country’s educational sector and skill acquisition programmes to help government speed up industrial development.

According to a statement from the group, the Dangote Foundation has since launched the Dangote Academy to train the youths.

Speaking at a conference on Corporate Social Responsibility in Abuja recently, AlhajiDangote said: “Last October, we launched the Dangote Academy to train young technicians and craftsmen that are expected to boost the manpower needs of our nation’s industries and currently, there are between 150 and 200 technicians in the Academy where they will be accommodated and fed for the duration of their 12-month training.

“We also give them stipends to meet their needs. We intend to absorb 75 percent of them in our factories and find jobs for the rest. This is part of our contributions to the industrial development of the country,” he said.

Alhaji Dangote who was represented by the Group Head of Corporate Communications Mr. Tony Chiejina, also disclosed; “We have equally tried to empower Nigerian students through our activities. For instance, we donated N500million for the development of Bayero University Business School, N200million for the proposed Islamic University in Katsina State and N118million for the squash complex at the main campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, as part of our CSR initiatives, within the last two years.”

According to him, the Foundation has gone beyond Nigeria to reach out to other people, especially victims of natural disasters. “For instance, last year in neighbouringNiger Republic, we donated relief materials worth over N120 million to assist famine victims and also donated $2 million, through the United Nations World FoodProgramme (WFP), in September 2010, to assist survivours of flood that ravaged Pakistan. Through this donation, we extended our support to more than 325,000 children in need in that country.”

He said: “Dangote Foundation is committed to initiating policies and executingprogrammes and projects aimed at creating jobs and alleviating poverty in Nigeria. As an organisation, we have it as a matter of policy, to give back to the society where we operate.

“Dangote Foundation, which serves as a vehicle that drives our CSR initiatives, has been involved in micro-credit programmes and has since 2007 been strategising on various intervention strategies designed to promote growth of MSMEs in the country.”

Dangote Kicks-Off $400m Zambia Cement Plant Construction

Dangote Kicks-Off $400m Zambia Cement Plant Construction

01 Aug 2011

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Zambian President, Rupiah Bwezani Banda

By Crusoe Osagie

Nigerian Conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited, has extended the frontier of its businesses in Africa with the launch, last weekend, of a new $400million dollar cement manufacturing plant in Zambia.

According to a statement made available to THISDAY, the ground-breaking ceremony in Masaiti near Ndola, Zambia’s manufacturing hub, witnessed by top government officials, ministers, and business leaders, was performed by Zambian President, Rupiah Bwezani Banda, who called on other African entrepreneurs to direct their investment to African countries.

Basking in the euphoria of the citing of the company in his country, Banda disclosed that the new plant - with an investment outlay of $400 million - is the largest in Zambia and would to a great extent help his government in the task of job creation and poverty alleviation.

The plant when completed, is expected to produce 1.5 million tonnes of cement annually, and will provide direct jobs for over 1000 unemployed Zambians, with additional 6,000 indirect jobs for the locals.

Banda, who led a delegation of top Zambian government officials, private sector operators as well as traditional rulers to the ceremony, lauded the doggedness of Dangote for believing in the economy of African countries with the establishment of his businesses across the African continent.

According to him, the Zambian government would do all to ensure safe and conducive operating environment for the plant, while assuring the people of Zambia that the high profile of the Dangote Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) would be made to bear on the host communities.

Already, the President said Dangote Cement had earmarked significant amount of money for development activities such as pipe borne water, schools, hospitals and other social amenities.

“Zambia, indeed welcomes your decision to invest here as one of the continent’s top global multi-national corporations. This is the largest investment into Zambia by a Nigerian company. I am glad to also note that besides the employment opportunities being created, the project will greatly benefit the people of Masaiti and the surrounding districts through transfer of technology and skills,” he said.

In his response, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said the ceremony was a follow up to the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) signed last December, between the Dangote Industries Limited and the Government of Zambia, adding that the investment would further strengthen the bilateral relations between Nigeria and the Zambia.

He said the IPPA is a requirement for investors in Zambia, which offers incentives and safeguards their investments against any future changes in legislation.

Dangote assured the Zambian government of the timely completion of the plant, which will make Zambia the 10th country where the company has invested in cement manufacturing in line with its pan-African drive.

He explained that going by projections, the cement plant with an installed capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum, will be up and running within 27 months and will therefore, likely come on stream by mid-2013.

In his words, “our choice of Zambia for this multi-million dollar investment is quite strategic. Last year, the World Bank named Zambia as one of the world's fastest economically reforming countries. Earlier this month, the World Bank reclassified Zambia as a middle-income country, along with Ghana. The World Bank attributed the upward adjustment in Zambia’s income growth to foreign aid-driven interventions and surging prices of copper in the last few decades.

“I am informed that our investment in this sector, which is outside the traditional mining sector, ranks as one of the highest in this country to date. This, no doubt, is a significant milestone for us as a company. But we are even more excited with the fact that an African company is making this investment in a sister African country.

“This indeed, shows that Africa is gradually taking its destiny in its own hands rather than wait for investors from outside Africa. Investment in the real sector of the economy is the only way that our continent can achieve the much desired accelerated growth and development that we have yearned for,” he said.

Quoting a report by the McKinsey Global Institute issued in June 2010, which revealed that Africa required at least $46 billion in spending annually to meet infrastructural needs, Dangote said it was obvious that African governments alone could not hope to meet this demand due to the various competing needs in other aspects of the economy and therefore private companies are needed tocomplement the government’s efforts.

“It is in this light that we have decided to invest in Zambia.

We are motivated to create an African success story because we believe that entrepreneurship, especially our own home-grown African entrepreneurship, holds the key to the future economic growth of the continent. The fact that Africa offers one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) in the world is an additional incentive for any discerning investor, who can take calculated risks,” he said.

“While we are in business of creating wealth primarily, we are also mindful of the need to touch lives of people. As a company, we have always been conscious of the need to give a little of our profits back to the society as a guarantee for sustainable business success. This has been our guiding business philosophy,” he added.

FG Hails Dangote, Lafarge on New Cement Plants

FG Hails Dangote, Lafarge on New Cement Plants

02 Aug 2011

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Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga

The Federal Government has expressed satisfaction with the level of work done so far in Dangote Cement Plant in Ibeshe, and Lafarge Cement WAPCO’s Lakatabu Cement plant in Ewekoro; both in Ogun State.

Government has described the projects as highly satisfactory, and a pointer to the fact that the country is on the verge of being self-sufficient in cement production.

Dangote Cement is concluding arrangements to commence production in its Ibeshe Cement Plant with installed capacity of six
million metric tonnes per annum, while Lafarge’s Lakatabu plant actually commenced test klinker production from its 2.5 million tonnes per annum plant at the time when the minister visited weekend.

The Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, who toured the two plants extensively, lauded the high pace at which work is going on at the sites.

“My intention for coming here today is to know about where we are in the concept of backward integration policy of government, so that government could set a target for the indigenous manufacturers on the way forward, but from what I have seen now, the Dangote Cement is a success story. I am pleased and satisfied with the high pace of work in the site and very optimistic that Nigeria will soon become self-sufficient in cement production,” he said.

“This is a success story in that some of the equipment we have seen here today are the biggest in Africa. With the situation I met on ground, I will do a memo to the Executive Council of the Federation on what we have achieved in the cement industry and these contributions have to be acknowledged”, the Minister said.

Commenting on the Lakatabu plant, Aganga hailed the high level of professionalism on the company in putting the plant together.
He said he was particularly thrilled that the plant was a model plant and first of its kind in the 78 countries where Lafarge carries out massive cement production.

He also commended the company for building the capacity of Nigerians who he said were visibly in charge of operational activities in the sophisticated plant.

Aganga stated that the government would work towards encouraging investments in other manufacturing sub-sectors so as to replicate the achievements recorded in the cement industry in other areas like sugar and rice productions.

Satisfied at the level of work on the Ibese and Lakatabu plants and the evidence of near term attainment of self-sufficiency in cement production, Aganga disclosed that the Federal Government would as a matter of necessity put in place a platform to recognise the contributions of entrepreneurs like Alhaji Dangote and Lafarge and the need to encourage them to do more so that other investors would be interested in the development of the nation’s economy.

In his words, “I must say that much has been achieved by Dangote Cement and Lafarge in an attempt to meet local demands. And
government would like to replicate these exploits in the production of rice, sugar and wheat.”

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, in his remarks, explained that the investment of his company in the Nigerian economy was part of import substitution strategy adopted by the organisation to gradually move away from outright importation to local manufacturing.

This decision, he said, has helped the nation as its import bill has drastically reduced, with the organisation only having to complement local productions with imports while also diversifying into other production areas.

Dangote stated that the Ibese plant was part of the expansion drive of the Dangote group to ensure that by next year, the cement industry could produce for self-sufficiency and exportation.

He further explained that the Ibese plant was a fully automated factory with constant online monitoring to guarantee high quality cement, noting that the Company went for highest grade and the biggest equipment in the assembly of the plant.

Highlighting some of the challenges faced in the execution of the plant, Dangote said “We have raw materials on ground and all the processes are fully automated but we had to cast the foundation of the area because of the peculiar nature of the area.”

According to him, the two line plant being built with latest technology has a 70 kilometre cable linking the production process from limestone crushing to the bagging of the finished products.

“We have taken every care to ensure the production is hitch-free, we have three alternative production power source, Gas, Coal and Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO), with two stores with storage capacity of half a million tonnes.

“We have the biggest raw mill in the world here in Ibese plant; it took us one year to prepare the land because of the peculiar nature of the soil. And it takes 7 - 8 hours to complete the production from beginning to the end,” he said.

“In all our plants we ensure Nigerians are paired with their foreign counterpart in line with pour deliberate policy of job creation for the locals. We ensure Nigerians are part of the projects, all these are to ensure that we produce to meet local production and start exporting the product to Ghana and other countries,” Dangote stated.

He urged the Minister to use his office to help in formulating policies that will help local producers to be competitive in production, pointing out that there shouldn’t be any reason why imported products should be cheaper than the locally produced.

Dangote assured that with the investment in cement in other African countries and after meeting local demands, his organisation would move into local production of sugar to meet local demands applying the same growth strategy.

Also commenting during the inspection of the Lakatabu plant, the Managing Director of Lafarge Cement WAPCO, Mr. Samy Abdelkader, assured that his company is committed to making cement more available and affordable.

“We will use our latitude as an international company with presence in 78 countries across the world to boost our investment in Nigeria”, he said, and also stressed the readiness of his company to partner with the Federal Government in achieving the mandate of the recently refocused ministry of Trade and Investment.

President of Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN), Joseph Makoju, called on the government to address the infrastructural deficit facing the nation, saying it was one main reason businessmen preferred to engage in importation rather than production.

The downside of Dangote Cement's ambition

The downside of Dangote Cement's ambition

by Sid Verma, FT TiltMore from this author

Dangote Cement - the largest listed Sub-Saharan African company outside South Africa - posted a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in profit after tax for H1, marginally below expectations due to capacity constraints. The ambitious company needs to beef up its financial disclosure and clarify its production targets - fast, said analysts.

Dangote Cement, a success story - Minister

Dangote Cement, a success story - Minister

THE Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, has described the exploits of Dangote Cement Plc as a success story of an indigenous investor.

The minister lauded the untiring efforts of the company in its continuous strive for rapid expansion to meet local demands of the essential commodity.

Aganga, speaking with newsmen shortly after being conducted round the 6 million tonnes capacity plant of the company in Ibese, Ogun State, acknowledged that the president of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had abiding faith in Nigeria’s economy, hence his enormous investments in the country.

“My intention for coming here today is to know about where we are in the concept of backward integration policy of government, so that government could set a target for the indigenous manufacturers on the way forward, but from what I have seen now, the Dangote Cement is a success story.

“I am pleased and satisfied with the high pace of work in the site and very optimistic that Nigeria will soon become self-sufficient in cement production.

“This is a success story in that some of the equipment we have seen here today are the biggest in Africa. With the situation I met on the ground, I will do a memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on what we have achieved in the cement industry and this contributions have to be acknowledged,” Aganga said.

He added that the government would work towards encouraging investments in other manufacturing sub-sector, so as to replicate the achievements recorded in the cement industry in other areas like sugar and rice productions.

Impressed by the level of work on the Ibese plant and the evidence of the attainment of self-sufficiency in cement production, Aganga said the Federal Government would, as a matter of necessity, put in place a platform to recognise the contributions of entrepreneurs like Alhaji Dangote and the need to encourage them to do more.

“I must say that much has been achieved by Dangote Cement in an attempt to meet local demands. And government would like to replicate these exploits in the production of rice, sugar and wheat,” he said.

In his remark, Alhaji Dangote said the investment of his company in the Nigerian economy was part of import substitution strategy adopted by the organisation, to gradually move away from outright importation to local manufacturing.

He assured that with the investment in cement in other African countries and after meeting local demands, his organisation would move into local production of sugar by applying the same growth strategy.

Dangote Cement of Nigeria Says First-Half Profit Climbs 8.9% as Sales Rise

Dangote Cement of Nigeria Says First-Half Profit Climbs 8.9% as Sales Rise

Q

Dangote Cement Plc (DANGCEM), Nigeria’s largest company by market value, said profit climbed 8.9 percent in the six months through June as sales rose.

Profit after tax increased to 57.7 billion naira ($378.2 million) compared with 53 billion naira a year earlier, according to a statement published on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s website today. Revenue advanced 13 percent to 112.7 billion naira, while the net value of its assets was 234.3 billion naira from 211.5 billion naira, the company said.

The cement maker plans to raise funds in a London share sale before the end of 2012, investing $3.9 billion as it moves to more than double output to 50 million metric tons by 2013 from an estimated 20 million tons this year, Chairman Aliko Dangote said on May 6.

“Dangote Cement’s fundamentals remain strong as its profitability margins grow,” Oluwatosin Oluwakiyesi, an analyst at Lagos-based Vetiva Capital Management Ltd., wrote in an e- mailed note to clients today.

Plans to bring a new cement plant into production before September is likely to provide a further boost to its earnings for the rest of the year, he said.

The stock, which carries two “buy” and four “hold” recommendations, closed unchanged at 120 naira at 2:30 p.m. today, giving it a market value of 1.9 trillion naira. It has a 26 percent weighting in the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dulue Mbachu in Abuja at dmbachu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

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