Nigerian tycoon to invest $400m in Zambia cement plantBy ELIAS MBAO in Lusaka | Friday, December 10  2010 at  19:50

Nigerian tycoon Aliko Dangote will invest $400 million to build a cement making plant in Zambia.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of an investment promotion and protection agreement between Dangote Industries Limited and the Zambian Government in Lusaka Friday, Mr Dangote said his firm’s investment was among the largest outside the traditional mining sector and Chinese concerns in Zambia.

“From our projections, our proposed cement plant in Zambia, with an installed capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum, will be up and running 27 months from February/March 2011,” said Mr Dangote, who Forbes Magazine named as the third richest person of African descent.

Creating jobs

“By mid-2013, we will have in place a world-class cement plant that will promote economic development in Zambia.”

Our choice of Zambia for this multi-billion dollar investment is quite strategic, he said, adding that the World Bank in 2010 named Zambia as one of the “world’s fastest economically reforming countries”.

“Our investment in cement in Zambia will help to complement the (Zambian) government’s efforts in stimulating economic growth and creating jobs,” said Mr Dangote.

Zambia’s trade minister Felix Mutati said Dangote Industries Limited’s investment in Zambia will benefit the local economy.