Africa richest man Aliko Dangote has shut down his cement plant in Tanzania due to high energy costs and a technical glitch at the $500 million factory, according to a government source, who confirmed reports in Tanzanian media. Executives at Dangote Industries Tanzania have recently complained about the government failure to provide the company with cheap fuel and other logistical solutions.
Dangote Cement had previously requested the government-owned energy company, the Tanzania petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), to supply its Mtwara-based cement plant with natural gas at significantly subsidized prices a request the government body turned down. Dangote cement spends as much as $4 million on diesel every month powering its cement factory.
“Our plant uses six million liters of diesel per month to run generators after the promises to supply it with natural gas, which is produced in a nearby gas field, failed to materialize, ” Dangote Tanzania CEO, Harpeet Duggal, had told a group of politicians in October.
