Displaying items by tag: Nigeria

Nigeria: Following the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the management of Dangote Cement plant, Gboko Local Government Area, Benue State, has agreed to pay compensation to the families of seven dead and numerous injured victims who were attacked by army officers attached to the cement plant on 18 March 2014, following a dispute between one youth and a guard.

Chairman of the Investigations Panel, Tony Ojukwu, said that the investigations had concluded that the incident infringed on the rights of the youths. He confirmed that the management of the plant wrote a letter of satisfaction to the commission accepting to pay the compensation as agreed. Ojukwu disclosed that the victims 'have not given their consent that the amount given to them as compensation be revealed.'

Nigeria: The Federal High Court of Calabar has stopped the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) from implementing the proposed cement standards it introduced recently. The ruling was issued by Justice Emmanuel Obile in a suit that was instituted by the United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (UniCem) against the Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the SON.

The judge urged the SON to ensure that it maintains the status quo over the proposed cement standardisation and warned it to halt action on the implementation of the controversial standardisation pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

The process of reviewing the cement standard by the SON is surrounded in controversy as professional bodies like Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), cement manufacturers among other stakeholders have cried foul over the process. The matter has been adjourned to 17 November 2014 to enable the SON to file its preliminary objection, which the court agreed would be taken together with the other pending applications.

Nigeria: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has begun to implement the cement standardisation and reclassification scheme with a zonal stakeholders' forum on blocks and allied products in the south west. The SON has also received directives from the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment to immediately commence the full enforcement of the policy across all segments of the cement and allied products sector.

The federal government's regulator of quality and standards began with the official unveiling of the new packaging and labelling model for the three different classes of cement in the nation's market, with clear labelling and colour coding to help stakeholders easily distinguish between 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5 grade cements in order to prevent misuse.

The minister of States for Industry, Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortom, expressed delight over the move by SON to firm up the regulations for building materials in the country. Ortom endorsed the decision to contrive the new cement packaging and labelling in line with the recently-approved Nigerian Industrial Standard for Cement, stressing that these steps would go a long way to enhance the building and construction industries.

"One key focus of standardisation all over the world is continual improvement aimed at customer satisfaction. This is only attainable through the diligent implementation of specifications for products and services as prescribed in the relevant approved standards," said Ortom. "Standards in themselves are dynamic in that they undergo reviews as necessary, towards ensuring continual improvement in products quality."

Nigeria/Dubai: The Investment Corp of Dubai (ICD) has bought a 1.4% stake in Nigeria's Dangote Cement for US$300m. Dangote Cement spokesman, Carl Franklin, confirmed the sale, but provided no further details.

Nigeria: The Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has spoken at the ground breaking ceremony of a new line at the 2.5Mt/yr Akamkpa cement plant, owned by United Cement Company of Nigeria (UniCem) in Cross River State. The company, which already operates a 2.5Mt/yr line on the same site, is the third largest producer of cement in Nigeria and aims to further secure this position when the new line comes online in 2016.

President Jonathan used the event to highlight the rapid development of the Nigerian cement industry. "In 2002 the Federal Government of Nigeria formulated the Backward Integration Policy (BIP) in the cement industry with a view to making Nigeria a self-sufficient cement producer," he said. "Within a decade, we have witnessed phenomenal growth in the industry from 2Mt/yr of cement produced locally in Nigeria to 28Mt/yr of installed capacity in 2013."

"Today's event by UniCem is yet another milestone for the company, the industry and the nation at large as this event brings additional 2.5Mt/yr to the nation's existing capacity," he continued. "I am particularly impressed that after five years of inauguration of the first line, we are gathered here today to break ground for the additional 2.5Mt/yr cement line."

Of the five African cement news stories in this edition of Global Cement Weekly, three concern the actions of Nigerian cement giant Dangote Cement. This week it has announced a new captive power plant in Nigeria and the fact that Sephaku Cement, which is owned by Dangote to the tune of 64%, is now in a position to produce cement from its Aganang plant in South Africa. These two items are fairly typical of the type of announcement that Dangote makes in the African market, and the high frequency with which it makes them. It is the third story, of course, which is unusual.

We have heard, for a couple of years now, that Dangote has designs on becoming a pan-African cement giant. Certainly it is the pre-eminent producer in west Africa, with its influence rapidly spreading to the east, north west and south of this vast continent. Few others, (but perhaps South Africa's PPC), can claim to have such influence and, unopposed, there seems no limit to Dangote's ambitions.

This week we heard just how bold those ambitions are. For the first time Africa's No. 1 cement producer has said that it wants to break out of Africa and enter new markets. No longer satisfied with operating at home, a company release has identified the Middle East and Latin America as potential hunting grounds, either for new capacity or acquisitions. The proposed list of LafargeHolcim cast-offs, which includes few assets in either region (LINK), will also have received significant attention in the Dangote boardroom.

The selection of the Middle East and Latin America, however, is not accidental. The Middle East is a high growth area and provides a platform for possible 'pincer-movement' expansion into more impenetrable markets in central Africa like Chad and (South) Sudan. The Middle East also means proximity to India. Dangote may also want to dampen the influence that Indian, Pakistani and Iranian exports have in the region. Potential tie-ups with Dangote's growing operations in east Africa are clear.

The selection of Latin America, on the face of it at least, is less obvious. There are numerous strong and growing local and regional producers. Not least of these is Colombia's Cementos Argos, which has increased its influence in the USA through strategic acquisitions. There are also numerous domestic large Brazilian producers but Dangote may feel like there is room for more to joint the party. Cade, the Brazilian competition authority, has certainly agreed that competition could be improved in Brazil following its recent investigations. Could Brazil be a prime target?

Wherever Dangote decides to play its first non-African card, it will be a major step for the company and African cement producers. How long until we see the first African-owned cement plant on another continent?

World: Dangote Cement is preparing to expand its cement production plants beyond the continent of Africa to the Middle East and Latin American countries. The company is optimistic that the planned investment will propel it to be ranked among the top 10 global cement manufacturers.

"We are currently operating in 14 African countries and we shall soon move across the continent to other continents," said Sunday Adondua, deputy general manager of production at the Ibese plant in Nigeria. "By the time we have consolidated our hold in the African markets, we shall go beyond the borders. Specifically, we are targeting the Middle East and Latin America. The idea is to be a world leader in cement production. We are also planning to start a plant in Mauritania and we are also planning projects in Gabon."

The Dangote Ibese plant in Nigeria has undergone recent upgrades, including the construction of new production lines. Lines 3 and 4 will be commissioned by the end of 2014, which will double the plant's cement production capacity to 12Mt/yr. Line 3 is complete and line 4 is 96% complete. As a result of the works, Dangote's three Nigerian cement plants in Ibese, Obajana and Gboko, will have a combined production capacity of 29.2Mt/yr.

Nigeria: Dangote Group has invested US$250m in a coal-based power plant in its effort to provide an alternative source of power for is plants across the country to reduce the cost and difficulty accessing electricity.

Dangote Cement's Group CEO, Devakumar Edwin, said that the initiative will help the group in running its businesses in all parts of the country. He noted that the group has installed a 54MW coal power plant in Gboko, Benue State and is currently working towards installations at Ibeshe in Ogun state and Obajana in Kogi State. Edwin, who said that the group was currently importing coal from South Africa, revealed that it has started exploring coal opportunities in Nigeria, especially in Enugu State. It has also established a separate division for coal exploration.

Edwin noted that inadequate power supply due to Nigeria's low supply of gas has affected Dangote's cement production, while the cost aspect has also impacted on the economy and increased cost for consumers.

"In this country, the major issue is power," said Edwin. "Any economy will climb to double digits, once there is power at the right price. With affordable power people will produce products locally, will gravitate to the private sector, leading to the creation of a middle class and more employment in the country."

Nigeria: With a national production capacity at over 28Mt/yr, which far outstrips national demand of 20Mt/yr, Nigeria looks set to effectively end cement imports by 2017, according to UniCem's managing director, Olivier Lenoir. This is coming on the back of on-going strong national production capacity expansion by virtually all of the major cement producers operating in the country. By 2016, Dangote Cement will have increased its production to 50Mt/yr, Lafarge 15Mt/yr and UniCem to 5Mt/yr.

Nigeria: The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has issued a 60-day ultimatum to cement manufacturers on product labelling and traceability requirements. Primarily, the new guidelines mandate the manufacturers to indicate on product bags the manufacturing and expiry dates, product application information as well as the batch numbers of the products.

Cement manufacturers, including Dangote Cement, Lafarge Nigeria, Unicem, Ibeto Cement, Ashaka Cement and Sokoto Cement, had appealed to the agency to review its initially-proposed 30-day deadline to enable them to implement the changes in their processes. The move, which is expected to enhance traceability in case of product failures, also places a responsibility on cement manufacturers to ensure that their products meet required guidelines and health and safety requirements.

Nigerian cement producers are also expected to submit their advertisements and commercials for pre-approval by the SON before they are sent to the media, while processes should be initiated to ensure that products are properly stored by distributors and retailers to avoid compromising product integrity.