Dangote Group yesterday inaugurated a new cement plant and 30 megawatts (Mw) coal-fired power plant in Zambia.
The new plant, with the capacity to produce 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) is located in Masaiti District, Ndola town in Zambia.
The cement plant with the power plant came at a cost $420million. The plant has already started production.
Speaking during the commissioning, President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the $400million spent on the new cement plant came from Nigeria, saying that with the plant, the company now has about 14 cement plants located in several countries in Africa.
He added that the power plant would generate 30Mw, while 20Mw of the generated power would be used by the company while the remaining 10Mw would reserved.
In the next 10 days, he disclosed that a new haulage business would commence operation in the region with over 400 trucks.
He told the audience that the company has started the first cement road in the country, adding that it is committed to the development of the local community by building schools, hospitals and others for them as part of its Corporate-Social Responsibility (CSR).
Aside, he said the company has set up scholarship scheme for students in the universities in Zambia, adding that small scale farmers would be assisted yearly to improve their yields.
Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, described the new plant in Zambia as an “important milestone in the relationship” that exists between Nigerian and Zambia.
He said ”Dangote and other entrepreneurs have done us very proud. With 1.5 metric tonnes per annum of cement in Zambia, 2.5 mmtpa in Ethiopia and another cement plants in Senegal, Tanzania and others countries.’
With the new investment in Zambia, he said three issues have been brought to the fore namely political stability, human capital development and institutional integration.
He said with the right institutional framework presently, this would guarantee an environment where business enterprises thrive.
He added that with substantive investment in human capital development, this would surely put an end to unemployment, poverty and poor infrastructure in African continent.
