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Dangote demands Immediate implementation of new cement quality standard

By BusinessNews Staff on May 28, 2014

Dangote Cement Plc, Monday, urged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to urgently implement the new standard for cement in the country.

SON recently published the standards it set for grades of cement that should be manufactured for specific types of building and construction work.

The reviewed standard specifically restricted the use of the 32.5 cement grade to plastering of structures only while 42.5 grade is approved for the construction of buildings, beams, load bearing columns, pillars, block moulding and other structures. Also, the 52.5 grade is chosen for the construction of bigger projects like bridges, flyovers, and high rise buildings.

Dangote Cement Director, Ekanem Etim, said at the press briefing that the implementation of the standards for cement would improve safety in building and construction.

Thus, Dangote urged SON to immediately begin the enforcement of the new cement classification and its uses to rid the nation of substandard cement and the attendant incidence of structural failure.

Etim, who gave the position of Dangote on the issues surrounding the new standard review and the classification of cement type, said the enforcement of the new standards was imperative to prevent avoidable loss of lives and property.

According to him, only economic saboteurs and profiteers would kick against the new standard for cement, as other countries of the world have moved up beyond this level.

Etim said the new standard was set by the Technical Committee of the SON, which was made up of all stakeholders in the building and construction industry, including all the cement manufacturers.
He said the committee, at the end of the meeting, came up with a review of the standard and classified cement into three grades and stipulated their exclusive uses to guide against misapplication and adulteration.

Etim said a report on the reviewed standard was adopted and forwarded to the SON Governing Council by a technical committee, which looked at the reviewed standard and approved it before sending it to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment for final approval and implementation.

Etim argued that several countries had phased out the 32.5 MPA and that what Dangote cement has done is to set a minimum standard of 42.5 MPA in its production lines and also go ahead and educate the people on the uses of the different grades of cement.

He said, “If any manufacturer wants to continue to produce 32.5 cement grade or even below and, canvass it as being for multi-purpose use, that is their problem with the authorities. As for Dangote, we have already complied even before the authorities came out to set the new standard.

“We are committed to the SON standard, because their position is in line with global best practices and we call on the SON to begin enforcement immediately. We hold the lives of the people dearly; the more we delay, the more we endanger the lives of the people.

“We have the interest of the people at heart and we can’t open our eyes as an indigenous company to allow economic saboteurs to put the lives of our people at risk.”

He explained that SON had set 42.5 as the minimum standard, even at the time the nation depended on importation of cement, adding that every importer brought in 42.5 grade.

“Now that production has been domesticated, what SON has done is to extend the 42.5 to cover local production and we wonder why a company which has been operating in the country for decades would find it difficult to switch to 42.5.
“SON is not asking for anything out of this world; just switch, though it might cost the company a little more, it is necessary in the interest of the people and the country,” he said.

[This Day]

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