The coastal west African countries of Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin are relative minnows of the global cement industry. Low-income countries in world terms, their cement capacities are typically 0 - 2Mt/yr, with lower production levels. Senegal is the exception, with a capacity of 7.3Mt/yr.
However, all of the cement industries in these countries pale in comparison to their eastern neighbour, Nigeria. The country saw an epic rise in its cement capacity in the late 2000s and so far in the 2010s, becoming a regional cement giant. Its industrial development has inevitably affected the cement industries of its neighbours and it is likely that its sphere of influence will expand in the coming years.
Above - Figure 2 & 3: Map of West Africa with integrated cement plants and neighbouring territories / areas of water (click to open PDF).
Mauritania
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is a large Saharan country in west Africa that endured French colonial rule until 1960 and then decades of dictatorship until 2005. It has few natural resources and it ranks in the bottom 25% of African countries in terms of GDP, although relative political calm at present may help drive future development.
GDP | US$7.8bn |
GDP/capita | US$2200 |
Population | 3.4m |
Area | 1,030,700km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Mauritania in 2012.
Cement industry
Mauritania has no integrated cement production facilities, although it has three grinding plants: Ciment de Mauritanie, a grinding plant close to the capital Nouakchott; MAFCI, a 0.4Mt/yr Italcementi subsidiary and; BSA Cement, which is majority-owned by France's Vicat Group.
Of these, the oldest is Ciment de Mauritanie, a Mauritanian-operated plant that has been in operation since 1981. Italcementi entered the Mauritanian cement market with an import terminal at Nouakchott in 1997. It converted the terminal into a grinding plant in 2001. Vicat bought a 65% stake in BSA in 2008 to reinforce its network in west Africa.
Although they have a combined capacity of around 1.2Mt/yr, the three grinding plants in Mauritania only needed to supply 0.25Mt of cement to the domestic market in 2012. This demand represents around 20% of installed grinding capacity and a per-capita consumption rate of just 75kg.
Foreign markets may have absorbed extra grinding capacity. To the south and east, Mali, which also has no integrated cement production capacity, offers a potential route for additional production. However it is a long distance from the coast to Mali and the roads are poor, making transportation of heavy commodities uneconomical.
Cement industry - Future
Figure 1 shows the GDP/capita of Mauritania from 1993 to 2012 and cement produced (via imported clinker) between 1993 to 2012. There is a general correllation between the two parameters, as is often seen in a developing economy.
If this trend continues, Mauritania may be able to consume its own grinding capacity at some point towards the end of the 2010s. Therefore, a dedicated integrated Mauritanian cement plant is likely many years away.
Senegal
Also part of colonial French West Africa, the modern-day Republic of Senegal is one of the most stable democracies on the African continent. However, it has relatively little in the way of natural resources and is reliant on foreign investment and financial assistance. Its main industries are phosphate mining and fishing.
GDP | US$27.0bn |
GDP/capita | US$2100 |
Population | 13.3m |
Area | 196,722km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Senegal in 2012.
Cement industry
Senegal has two integrated cement plants, both of which are located in the north and west of the country. These are Ciments du Sahel, a 3.2Mt/yr plant at Kirene that has been in its current dry process configuration since 2011, and Socicim, a 4.2Mt/yr plant that has been part of the French Vicat Group since 1999. Additionally, Senegal Cement Factory, a 2.5Mt/yr installation by Nigeria's Dangote Cement is expected to start production in 2014, although this project has been disrupted at various stages to date.
Indeed, it is the imminent appearance of Dangote in Senegal that has prompted Ciments du Sahel to invest in a 2.5Mt/yr plant in Nigeria's neighbour Benin, with the aim of spreading its production base and becoming less reliant on the Senegalese market. The company exported 2.1Mt of cement from Senegal in 2011, over 50% of its production.
It will certainly be interesting when these two projects come online, as they effectively extend each company into the other's existing heartland. At 2.5Mt/yr, both plants are the same size.
Cement industry - Future
With cement consumption of 220kg/capita/yr in 2011, Senegal has the highest cement consumption in the countries in this review. As Figure 2 demonstrates, the country's combined integrated and grinding plant cement production has been very marked in the past decade.
With the new Dangote installation expected to come online within 12 months and that company keen to grab a market share, it is reasonable to expect that cement production will continue to rise in the coming decades. A growing population and rising GDP will ensure that there is no shortage of demand.
The Gambia
The Gambia is a long, thin independent republic that is almost entirely encircled by Senegal. It consists entirely of lowlands that surround the River Gambia and gained independence from Great Britain in 1965. Its economy, which has actually contracted in GDP/capita terms in the past 20 years, is broadly based on agriculture, which provides 80% of export revenue, and tourism.
GDP | US$3.46bn |
GDP/capita | US$1900 |
Population | 1.9m |
Area | 11,295km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for The Gambia in 2012.
Cement industry
The Gambia does not have any integrated cement plants or grinding plants. It receives imports through a single source, the Italcementi subsidiary Gacem, which has a terminal in the capital and main port Banjul. Gacem has been the country's sole cement domestic supplier since 1993. However, Ciments du Sahel in neighbouring Senegal is well positioned to supply to The Gambia.
Cement industry - Future
With per-capita cement consumption of below 100kg/capita/yr, the Gambia is typical of countries in its region. A steady supply of material from Gacem and Senegalese suppliers, the capability of which will be significantly enhanced with the arrival of the Dangote plant, combined with a lack of space, make a Gambian cement plant or even grinding plant unnecessary at present.
Guinea-Bissau
Since independence from Portugal in 1974 Guinea-Bissua has had little chance to develop its economy, which was held back by dictatorship, civil war and political uncertainty. Legally, its economy is based on agriculture, but narcotics are a major source of black-market revenue. Long-established colonial connections to Latin America mean that the country is used as a drugs trading post on the route to Europe.
GDP | US$1.96bn |
GDP/capita | US$1200 |
Population | 1.7m |
Area | 36,125km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Guinea-Bissau in 2012.
Cement industry
As the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau has neither an integrated cement plant nor a grinding plant. Prior to the Guinea-Bissau Civil War of 1998-1999, cement was imported by SOMEC. As a result of the conflict, SOMEC was taken over by a convicted drug-trafficker from Colombia, who ran the company with a local partner until September 2006, when a government bust found firearms, drugs and millions of dollars in cash at the cement importer's offices.
Cement industry - Future
While Guinea-Bissau has some limestone reserves, a large number of political and economic changes have to occur before cement demand (and hence domestic production) can take off in the country.
Guinea
Like other countries in the region, Guinea endured dictatorship following the departure of its French colonial rulers in 1958 until free elections in 1993. After years of political dissatisfaction, the country desecended into political chaos at the end of the 2000s with the government firing on an opposition rally, a failed assasination attempt on the president and his subsequent exile. In 2012 the government consisted entirely of civilians for the first time.
GDP | US$12.4bn |
GDP/capita | US$1100 |
Population | 11.2m |
Area | 245,857km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Guinea in 2012.
Cement industry
Guinea has no integrated cement plants but has two cement grinding plants. Ciments de Guinee has a 0.6Mt/yr facility and CIMAF has a 0.5Mt/yr facility. Figure 7 shows that the production of cement from these grinding facilities does not meet their combined 1.1Mt/yr capacity.
Cement industry - Future
Nigeria's Dangote Cement is in the process of installing a 0.5Mt/yr cement import and bagging terminal in the Guinean capital and port city of Conakry. Dangote's website says that the plant should come online in 'late 2013,' but it is unclear whether or not it is operational yet. It adds that the plant will help to supply Dangote's cement to landlocked nations in west Africa, further expanding the company's influence in the region.
Sierra Leone
A former British colony, Sierra Leone is unfortunately known best for its long-running civil war of 1991-2002, which killed tens of thousands and displaced a third of the country's six million people. With UN peacekeepers having departed in 2005, security is now in the hands of the military, while a new government looks to foster longer-term peace, develop the economy and jobs and remove corruption. In addition to being extremely poor, the country has extreme inequality in terms of income. Whether or not new oil discoveries will eradicate or exacerbate this situation remains to be seen.
GDP | US$8.4bn |
GDP/capita | US$1400 |
Population | 5.6m |
Area | 71,740km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Sierra Leone in 2012.
Cement industry
Sierra Leone has no integrated cement plants but has one 0.11Mt/yr cement grinding plant operated by Sierra Leone Cement Corp., part of Germany's HeidelbergCement. Additionally, Nigeria's Dangote Cement is in the process of installing a new
0.5Mt/yr import and bagging terminal in the capital and port city of Freetown. As with its terminal in Guinea, Dangote says that the terminal will also serve inland countries in west Africa.
Cement industry - Future
Like Guinea, Sierra Leone will soon have its cement requirements catered to by Dangote, which will have the country's largest cement facility. If and how the new cement capacity can be used will depend on local construction, which is externally-funded in most cases.
There are certainly large opportunities for improving infrastructure in particular, which would help raise demand for cement, at least among commercial users, and may encourage the use of bulk cement. One major long-standing target is the construction of a bridge between the capital Freetown and the international airport on the other side of the Tagrin Estuary. The only current links are water- or air-based.
Liberia
Liberia was established in Africa in the mid 1800s by African slaves, who had returned to their native land after being granted freedom in the Americas. This makes the country's origins distinct from other nations in the immediate region.
Despite having a 'clean slate' in the fact that Liberia was a 'new' country, authoritarian regimes and civil conflicts that started in 1980 have had a profound effect on the country. Former president Charles Taylor is due to stand trial for war crimes at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands. The current president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, came to power in 2005.
GDP | US$2.7bn |
GDP/capita | US$700 |
Population | 4.0m |
Area | 111,369km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Liberia in 2012.
Cement industry
Also with no integrated plants, Liberia has two foreign-operated cement facilities. Liberian Cement Corporation, a unit of Germany's HeidelbergCement, runs a 0.75Mt/yr grinding plant in the capital and port city of Monrovia, with recent investment including a two-chambered 65t/hr ball mill with high-efficiency separator, filter, fan and flow meter. "The construction of the new cement mill in Liberia is in line with our strategy of modernising and expanding clinker and cement capacities in emerging markets," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.
Meanwhile, Dangote Cement of Nigeria, has operated a 0.5Mt/yr bulk cement import and bagging terminal for cement coming from its Nigerian operations since 2012. In January 2013, president Johnson Sirleaf suspended tariffs on imported cement, citing the need for lower cost cement for national development and construction.
As of September 2013, the Liberian government, through the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) reported that it was preparing to take legal action against Liberia Cement Corporation for allegations of pollution from its operations in Monrovia. "We have completed all medical examinations on dozens of residents in the Belema Community," said INCHR Commisioner James Torh. "Doctors have established that indeed the cement dust being produced by the company is responsible for their disability and lung infections."
Cement industry - Future
The interest shown in Liberia by HeidelbergCement and Dangote Cement is a common theme along the west African coast. While Liberia is not the worst prepared to take advantage of a competitive cement market, its stance against Liberian Cement Corporation, which has served the country since 1968, could put off others from grinding cement in the country. This should not affect Dangote, which imports bulk cement for bagging in a modern facility.
Cote d'Ivoire
The former French colony of Cote d'Ivoire is a relatively wealthy country in west African terms, although it also saw political turmoil between 1999 and 2011 that damaged growth. Strong links with France and sound development of its agricultural sector provide a solid basis for the economy and the incumbent president Alassane Dramane Ouattara is focussd on repairing infrastructure and the military.
GDP | US$41.0bn |
GDP/capita | US$1800 |
Population | 22.4m |
Area | 322,463km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Cote d'Ivoire in 2012.
Cement industry
Cement production was down in Cote d'Ivoire in 2011 by 48% compared to 2010 at just under 0.1Mt. With no integrated cement plants, Cote d'Ivoire's current cement needs are met by grinding plants operated by local firms. CIMAF operates a 0.5Mt/yr plant and Societé de Ciments et Matériaux operates a 0.8Mt/yr plant. As elsewhere, Nigeria's Dangote Cement will shortly arrive on the scene when it commissions a new, state-of-the-art 1.0Mt/yr grinding plant in Abijan. West Africa Cement (WACEM) also has a project mooted for Cote d'Ivoire.
Cement industry - Future
With its civil dispute ending only two years ago, Cote D'Ivoire's infrastructure is in a poor state of repair and many of the facilities that might assist in (re-)development are in need of investment. In the event that moderate to large infrastructure projects can restart, the cement industry will have a key role to play. However, it is likely that any large-scale projects will benefit cement producers outside of Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria's Dangote Cement for example.
Ghana
Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence from colonial rule, breaking away from British control (along with British Togoland) in 1957. Initially falling into a series of coups, Ghana has seen relative stability since 1981, albeit with significant restrictions on political freedoms until 1992. Over this period the country has seen gradual reductions in poverty levels that have resulted from relatively sound economic development and competitive markets.
GDP | US$83.7bn |
GDP/capita | US$3400 |
Population | 25.2m |
Area | 238,533km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Ghana in 2012.
Cement industry
Ghana has a very large cement grinding capacity, which is led by Ghacem, a unit of Norway's Scancem that is, in turn, part of Germany's HeidelbergCement. Ghacem has two grinding plants, at Tema (2.2Mt/yr) and Takoradi (1.4Mt/yr). The Tema plant has recently been upgraded from 1.2Mt/yr to 2.2Mt/yr and the Takoradi plant will see an additional 0.8Mt/yr of capacity added in late 2014. The Takoradi expansion, a US$30m project that includes the construction of a clinker silo, a new cement silo and the installation of cement bag packing and dispatch facilities, will take the grinding capacity of Ghacem to 4.4Mt/yr from 3.6Mt/yr at present.
Speaking of the Takoradi project, HeidelbergCement's CEO Dr Bernd Scheifele said, "The construction of the new cement mill in Ghana is another project in the context of our strategy of expanding our clinker and cement capacities in growth markets. In particular the countries of sub-Saharan Africa have a very high growth potential due to their early stage of industrialisation and rich natural resources."
Elsewhere, West African Cement (WACEM), which operates a 0.75Mt/yr plant in Ghana, secured a US$20m loan from Stanbic Bank Ghana to build a 1Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Egyam Bokro, near Takoradi, in May 2013. Production will start in 2014.
In addition to local grinding supplies, Nigeria's Dangote Cement announced that it had started exporting Nigerian cement to Ghana in March 2013. Dangote's first foray into international cement supply came in 2011 when it installed a 1.5Mt/yr terminal at the port in the capital Accra.
Cement industry - Future
Ghana's cement capacity, although entirely from grinding plants, is one of the largest in west Africa. The country is developing its oil and gas reserves, which is driving production towards well cements as well as established types of cement.
Speaking in 2012, Ghacem's Morten Gade said, "The discovery of the oil in Ghana creates accelerated development of the economy and Ghacem. As a market leader in the cement industry, we will continue to play a leading role in nation building. It is worth noting that the emerging oil industry contributed to a higher growth in the cement consumption of the Western Region compared to the national average. This region will most likely become one of the key markets of Ghana in addition to the key markets of Greater Accra and the Ashanti Region."
In the same year, Ghana's cement demand was around 3Mt/yr. With Ghacem growing by a reported 20%/yr, the near-term looks good for the cement market. Dangote may have decided to start its grinding operations at just the right time.
Togo
French Togoland became modern-day Togo in 1960. Steadily emerging from decades of control by the military and various non-democratic arrangements, Togo is increasingly open for business and investment, albeit from a low base. The country's economy is based on agriculture, with the cash-crops of cocoa, coffee and cotton generating around 40% of export revenues between them.
GDP | US$7.0bn |
GDP/capita | US$1100 |
Population | 7.2m |
Area | 56,785km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Togo in 2012.
Cement industry
West African Cement (WACEM) operates the only integrated cement plant in Togo. The 1.2Mt/yr facility in Lome is due to be upgraded to 1.5Mt/yr by 2015. HeidelbergCement operates a 0.6Mt/yr grinding plant via its subsidiary Cemtogo SA.
Cement industry - Future
WACEM's dominance in the Togolese market will shortly be under threat with the arrival of HeidelbergCement's new US$250m clinker plant with an annual capacity of 1.5Mt/yr in the town of Tabligbo. In addition, the company is building another cement grinding facility with a capacity of 0.2Mt/yr in Dapaong.
"The construction of the new clinker plant and the cement grinding facility is part of our strategy to focus on expanding our clinker and cement capacities in growth markets," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. "As west Africa possesses only relatively small limestone deposits, the clinker required in cement production often has to be imported at high cost. Our new clinker plant is of great strategic importance as it sources the limestone from its own deposits."
The clinker will be processed to cement in HeidelbergCement's grinding mills in Togo as well as in the neighbouring countries of Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso. This will replace clinker that has previously been imported from overseas and thereby strengthen HeidelbergCement's competitiveness in Africa.
The project is being conducted within the framework of a partnership between HeidelbergCement and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and its finance partners. Commissioning of the two new plants is scheduled for 2015.
Benin
Modern Benin traces its history back to Dahomey, a west African kingdom that came into existence in around 1600. Colonised by the French from the mid 1800s, it was under control of France from 1894 until 1960. First going through a Soviet-inspired dictatorship, the country transferred to democratic control in the early 1990s, the first west African former colony to do so. Its economy is broadly based on agricultural production, with cotton the main crop.
GDP | US$15.8bn |
GDP/capita | US$1700 |
Population | 9.9m |
Area | 112,622km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Benin in 2012.
Cement industry
Benin has two integrated cement plants: Société des Ciments d'Onigbolo (0.7Mt/yr), which is 43%-owned by Nigeria's Dangote Cement, and Cimenterie de Benin (1.1Mt/yr). In addition, HeidelbergCement operates a 0.28Mt/yr Fives FCB grinding plant.
Cement industry - Future
Senegal's Ciments du Sahel is in the process of constructing a 2.5Mt/yr cement plant in Benin (as mentioned above). When this comes online, it will more than double the capacity of Benin to produce cement and may provide a powerful counter balance to Dangote Cement in neighbouring Nigeria.
Nigeria
The collection of lands that became Nigeria were mainly controlled by British colonial interests throughout the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Independent from 1960 onwards the country developed slowly, saw 16 years of military rule (1984-1999) and has since developed to become a regional powerhouse.
Africa's most populous country, Nigeria has a rapidly-growing economy, which grew by over 6% in 2012. Oil revenues form a major part of the economy, stimulating large-scale foreign investment.
Since 2008, the government has been increasingly proactive in increasing macroeconomic planning and efficiency, stamping out corruption and reforming industry. The cement industry has been part of these efforts.
GDP | US$455.5bn |
GDP/capita | US$2800 |
Population | 174.5m |
Area | 923,768km2 |
Above: Summary statistics for Nigeria in 2012.
Cement industry
If this review had been written as little as five years ago, the description of the Nigerian cement industry would read similarly to those of the other countries included in this review. Nigeria would have had a slightly larger industry than others, with seven integrated plants in the Global Cement Directory 2008-2009 and a cement capacity of just 6.7Mt/yr. This level is similar to the capacity of Senegal today but the industry was relatively undeveloped, with smaller and older plants under the control of several small producers.
However, as Figure 14 shows, concerted efforts by one particular manufacturer, Dangote Cement (part of the wider Dangote Group) has changed the cement landscape beyond recognition. Encouraged by the Nigerian government and ably assisted by privatisation of the cement sector, Dangote has built two gigantic cement plants in Nigeria that give it an unrivalled position in not only west Africa, but the whole of the continent. It has 10.25Mt/yr of capacity at Obajana and 6Mt/yr at Ibese as well as 3Mt/yr at Gboko, a total of almost 20Mt/yr. This gives it around 70% of
Nigerian capacity.
The net result of the additional capacity is that Nigeria has gone from being a cement importer as late as 2010 to a cement exporter in 2012. It produced around as much as it consumed in 2011. Dangote (and others) have been quick to take advantage of this situation and have begun exporting to other countries along the west Africa coast. Dangote has an import terminal in Ghana and grinding plants in Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as an integrated plant in Benin. An integrated plant will come in Senegal and a grinding plant in Guinea.
In addition to its production assets, Dangote holds six cement terminals in Nigeria, which it used to use for imports. These have now been converted to use for export and have a combined capacity of 9Mt/yr. All are located in either Lagos or Port Harcourt.
Unlike the other countries along the coast, HeidelbergCement is not present in Nigeria, but Lafarge has several interests, through its subsidiary AshakaCem (0.9Mt/yr) and Lafarge WAPCO, which has two plants at Ewekoro (a total of 4Mt/yr) and one at Sagamu (0.6Mt/yr). Originally part of West Africa Portland Cement (WAPCO), its plant at Sagamu and one at Ewekoro have been active since the 1970s. They were bought by Blue Circle before Blue Circle was itself acquired by Lafarge in 2001.
Minority players in Nigeria include the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), which has a 0.3Mt/yr plant at Sokoto in the far north of the country, near the border with Niger. Edo Cement has a 3Mt/yr plant under construction in Edo State in the central south of the country. United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem) has a 2Mt/yr plant in the far east of the country in Cross River State. It is undergoing expansion to 4Mt/yr at present.
Cement industry - Future
In future years, the Dangote cement juggernaut will continue to gather pace. There is another 3Mt/yr line due to come online at Obajana, taking its capacity to 13Mt/yr by the close of 2014. The Ibese plant is to double in size, from 6Mt/yr to 12Mt/yr over the same timeframe. A 1Mt/yr extension to the Gboko facility is ongoing.
Once complete, these developments will take Dangote's domestic capacity to a heady 29Mt/yr. It is a bold producer to step into this ring. Certainly a major multinational would have to be very tactically astute in order to succeed in the Nigerian market. It will be interesting to see how Unicem fares in the coming years when its capacity doubles.
Discussion
Figure 15 shows the positions of current cement assets and those under construction in this review. They are colour-coded by majority stakeholder. The circles indicate integrated cement plants, with the size of the circle proportional to the capacity of the plant. Grinding facilities are indicated by squares but are not scaled, with the exception of the two HeidelbergCement facilities in Ghana. These are shown slightly more prominently due to their unusually high capacities. Triangles indicate import terminals that do not grind cement. These are also not to scale.
The picture that emerges is that there are two main centres of cement production in coastal west Africa. These coincide with limestone deposits in Nigeria and Senegal. Between these dominant producers there is a string of countries that rely on clinker and / or cement imports for their cement, with import / grinding facilities in every almost capital city along the coast. The exception is Benin, which is a minor producer of cement and likely imports any additional cement from neighbouring Nigeria by road.
Major players and tactics
The major cement players in west Africa are Dangote Cement, HeidelbergCement and Lafarge subsidiaries. In terms of integrated capacity, Dangote holds almost half of the total (~20Mt/yr) in the countries under review. All of the other producers share only ~20Mt/yr between them. This ratio will swing in Dangote's favour in the coming years if others do not develop at the same pace.
For its part, HeidelbergCement is looking to counter Dangote's rapid development with strategically-placed terminals. From these it is in the process of offloading its excess European cement stock. Lafarge is limited to the western regions, but still holds second place in capacity terms in Nigeria. It has not been speaking of expansion recently and Lafarge is burdened by debt, potentially making capacity addition or acquisitions more risky than for Dangote. Additionally, Ciments du Sahel may soon become an interesting player to watch. It has jumped straight from Senegal to Benin in its expansion drive. Could it yet take the upper hand in Guinea(-Bissau), Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo or Ghana?
Fighting on several fronts
However, it is important to remember that Dangote is not looking to become a west African cement giant, it is looking to become an African cement giant. Arguably, it has already achieved this.
Dangote is, indeed, ideally-positioned to make inroads into west, central, east and southern Africa. In addition to the assets described here, it also has plans (at varying stages of development) to enter the cement markets of Cameroon, South Africa, Zambia, Ethiopia, the Republic of Congo and Gabon.
Its positions in these other regions is not as developed as in west Africa and it is likely to come up against strong competition from South Africa's PPC and established producers in the east of Africa. However, the Dangote Cement powerhouse is here to stay and will certainly have much sway on the development of the west African cement industry in the coming years.