Production at the Dangote cement factory in Zambia will commence this month after construction work was completed. This factory was constructed at a cost of US$400 million and a similar one is set to be constructed in Chilanga at the same cost.

According to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, construction work on the cement factory would have been completed earlier, however, this was hampered by the rains.

Delay in getting cleared by the Zambia Environmental Agency (ZEMA) also caused a bit of delay on the project. Operations should start in two to three weeks.

The Group CEO also noted that that the Dangote Masaiti plant had a production capacity of 1.5 million tons of cement per annum and will be equipped with a 30 mega Watt power plant.

The Chilanga cement construction would also have a similar model as that of Masaiti, with similar investments.

Dangote further noted that the same contractors who worked on the first project will be engaged in the second project. He was glad that there was room for investment in Zambia.

“We have made good progress on the Chilanga project where we are building an identical plant and certainly there is room for additional investment in Zambia, we are happy to be here” he said.

Source:  Construction Review Online