Zambia: Dangote Cement plans to commission a US$400m cement plant in the city of Ndola in July 2014 with a production capacity of 3000t/day.

The company expects to produce 1.0 - 1.2Mt/yr of cement when it is commissioned, which will increase Zambia's total cement production to 2.5 - 2.7Mt/yr. Zambia currently has a cement production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr from Lafarge's plants in Lusaka and Ndola and Zambezi Portland's plant in Ndola.

Senior general manager for Dangote Projects, Anand Kameshwar said that installation of major equipment at the plant by China's Sinoma Engineering was nearly complete. "Most of the major equipment has been installed and the project is on course and should be complete by July 2014," Kameshwar said, adding that Dangote would contribute significantly in mitigating cement shortages that have resulted from high cement demand due to construction activities. Once operational, the cement factory will create 700 new jobs.

Dangote is also constructing a 30MW power sub-station that is expected to commission in May 2014. "This facility will provide electricity to the cement plant, which is expected to consume 25MW of power per day," Kameshwar said. The cement factory will also open up other avenues for Dangote to increase its investments in Zambia.