Dangote plans to enter Niger market

Dangote Cement plans to spend US$350m to build a new cement in Niger as part of the its African expansion drive.

Speaking to press following a meeting with Niger President Issoufou Mahamadou on Wednesday, Aliko Dangote, stated:  "I announced to the head of state my intention to build a cement plant worth US$350m which will produce 1.5Mta."

"The realisation of this project will create 6000 to 7000 jobs," he added. He said the plant would produce its own electricity with an anticipated surplus to be used to bolster Niger's currently unreliable power output.

In May 2011, the government announced the creation of a new company, La Nouvelle Cimenterie du Niger – Diamond SA (NCN-Diamond), with 0.54Mta capacity, and construction is under way. This will replace the country's existing plant at a cost of XOF39bn (US$78m), 32 per cent financed by a West African Development Bank loan.