Nairametrics| Richest man in Africa and business tycoon, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, through hos company, Dangote Group of Companies has established a $100million truck assembly plant in Ikeja, Lagos. According to a statement released by Mr Anthony Chiejina, the Chief Corporate Communication Officer, Dangote Group, the plant, located in Ikeja, has the capacity to produce 10,000 trucks annually. Chiejina said the conglomerate owned 60 per cent stake in the assembly plant while SINOTRUK holds 40 per cent, in a partnership that was formed in 2014Why is this good news for all parties involved?
- Dangote and his business
Probably the greatest winner (as should be the case) is the Dangote Group of Companies who ha hitherto been spending heavily on importing trucks to distribute its products both locally and across African countries. This assembly plant will immediately reduce the cost of procuring trucks for its activities. In addition, sales of trucks to other parties will add to the company’s revenue.
- SINOTRUK
Sinottruk, the Chinese company responsible for the highest number of truck exports from China for the last decade of 34,000 trucks out of the 176,000 vehicles exported in 2014. The company developed strategic technical partnerships with major international brands such as Steyr in Austria and Mann in Germany, all of which had helped it penetrate key global markets. And with Africa becoming its key point of sale for many years now, this assembly plant will effectively cement its penetration into the African market.
- The Common Man
The assembly plant is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs alone, in addition to other thousands of indirect jobs. Add to this the possibility of prices lowering due to reduced operational cost and it becomes clear that the average Nigerian on the street also stands to benefit.
