Nigeria’s Dangote Cement exported its first shipment of clinker to Senegal during the weekend. The 27,800t shipment set off from the company’s terminal in Apapa Port, Lagos.

"This vessel, being the maiden ship is exporting 27,800t to Senegal and this is just a tip of the iceberg as to what we have in plan. What we have in plan is to send clinker from Nigeria to Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Ghana," said Alhaji Sada Ladan-Baki, group executive director.

Mr Ladan-Baki also noted that the company will launch its export terminal in Onne, Rivers State, in the next few days. The terminal is expected to enable the company to export clinker to its grinding facility in Cameroon and then to new grinding plants being built across west Africa, according to The Punch.

"Our target is to export at least 4Mt of clinker annually to various parts of Africa," added Mr Ladan-Baki.