Dangote to expand Ethiopian cement operations with $400m investment

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Industries Ltd., Aliko Dangote, on Saturday unveiled a $400m plan to restart a second production line at Ethiopia’s Mugher cement plant, a move expected to double the facility’s annual output to 5 million tonnes.

The plant, which began operations in 2015, has faced security challenges, including attacks on vehicles and equipment during regional unrest, Bloomberg first reported on Saturday.
In 2018, the Country Manager of Dangote Cement Plc and two other employees were shot dead in Ethiopia.

“Despite the ups and downs, we have successfully repaid all our loans and repatriated our profit,” the billionaire businessman officer told reporters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The expansion project is expected to be operational within the next 30 months, he said.
Africa’s wealthiest man said he plans to build a new greenfield cement grinding unit with an annual capacity of 3 million tonnes.

He also announced that Dangote Industries, in partnership with state-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings, will invest in the Omo Kuraz sugar factory.