Dangote Cement has concluded plans to expand its production capacity through the construction of a new 6Mt integrated cement plant in Itori, Ogun State. According to the Group Managing Director, of Dangote Cement, Mr. Arvind Pathak, the new plant on completion, will strengthen local production of Dangote Cement in Africa.
Besides, Dangote Cement will soon deploy grinding plants in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire to ensure cement becomes available in all African countries. Pathak was speaking at the Closing Gong Ceremony on the Trading Floor of the Nigerian Exchange Ltd (NGX), which also served to introduce him as the new Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement to the dealing members of the Exchange.
He said: “We have successfully completed our 0.4 million tonnes grinding plant in Ghana and are on track to complete our 1.5 million tonnes grinding plant in Cote d’Ivoire. In addition, we are strengthening our local production capacity efforts to meet future demand with a 6Mt integrated cement plant in Itori, Ogun state. The Itori cement plant will increase Nigeria’s capacity to export cement, enabling more diversification and foreign exchange inflows for the economy.
He stated that Dangote Cement is proud of its strong ties with the NGX and will always look forward to embracing new ways to engage and foster this partnership. The Exchange, he opined, “is very important to Dangote Cement as it provides a platform for our stock to be traded, as well as the means to raise funds through the capital market. The exchange is also one of the regulatory bodies which we comply with. Dangote Cement has made great strides in our debt capital market journey, from the issuance of our maiden ₦100 billion 5-year bond in 2020 to another landmark bond issuance, where we raised ₦116 billion.”
He added that Dangote Cement has also received numerous recognitions from capital market regulators and players which include the best issuer in terms of the fixed income listings by the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) in 2022.
Earlier, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Limited, Mr. Temi Popoola welcoming the delegation from Dangote Cement lauded the company on its 2022 full-year financial results. He said that it is heart-warming to welcome the largest listed company on the Exchange and called for more collaborations that will help to deepen the NGX.
Popoola said the NGX through its activities and initiatives has boosted investors’ confidence which can be seen in the appreciation of listed equities adding that the goal of the Exchange is to innovate and help more businesses to grow. Part of the innovation he disclosed is the new USSD scheme that makes it possible to access the NGX services on mobile phones.