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Dangote commences work on Okpella cement plant

By on April 12, 2016

Dangote Cement Plc on Saturday began the construction of a new cement plant in Okpella, Edo State.

The new cement plant and others in the pipeline, estimated to cost $1bn, are expected to increase the $3bn the country has been saving from import substitution in cement yearly.

The new six million metric tonnes per annum capacity plant in Okpella is coming on the heels of a similar arrangement for another six million mtpa plant in Itori, in Ogun State.

According to a statement by the firm on Sunday, by this investment, Dangote’s production capacity in Nigeria alone will go up to 41 million mtpa.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and his counterpart in Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said the government was pleased with the exploits of Dangote Cement in ensuring that the nation freed itself from the shackles of endless importation and become a net exporter of the product.

This development, they stated, tallied with the change agenda of the present government that all hands must be on deck to substitute importation with local production and consume only products that were produced locally.

They stated that the volatility in the international oil market and the excessive dependent on importation had combined to put pressure on the naira, adding that the government was putting in place strategies to free the currency from such a pressure.

 

[Punch]