Leading cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement Plc has rolled out products from its $300million cement plant in Senegal amid excitement by the country’s government on the prospect of direct employment of about 5,000 of the locals by the company.
The establishment of the cement plant by Dangote is said to be the single largest investment in Senegal by an African and the Senegalese government promised to protect the company to achieve its optimal production capacity.
Both the Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal, Katyen Jackden and Senegal Director of Mines, Ousmane Cisse commended the doggedness of the Chairman of Dangote Cement in seeing the plant through despite various setbacks.
Speaking in Dakar, during a ceremony to announce the formal commencement of production at the plant, the Senegalese Director said the government of Republic of Senegal was happy with Dangote as the single largest investor in the country, urging other African entrepreneurs to emulate the business acumen of Dangote.
The new plant located in Pout district of Senegal, about 75 kilometres East of Dakar, the country’s capital, has a nominal capacity to produce 4000MT per day and 1.2MT per annum. The plant is expected to create more than 5,000 jobs, with a total production capacity of 1.5 million tons annually.
The full version of this article originally appeared in The Nation