Dangote Cement plant to become largest producer in Africa - Abiodun
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has said that the $700 million Dangote Cement plant in Itori, Ewekoro Local Government area of the state will become the largest producer of cement in the country upon completion.
According to the governor, The Dangote Cement plant, which is situated on 533 hectares of land, will produce 6 million tons of cement per annum and is expected to be completed by November 2026.
Abiodun, who made this known during an inspection of the level of work on the second Dangote Cement plant in Itori, Ogun State, said the Cement plant will now produce several million tons of cement more than any other country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Governor explained that with the $700 million investment by the Dangote Group into the state, Alhaji Dangote has further solidified the position of the state as the industrial capital of the country.
"Ogun State will be producing 18 million tons from Dangote, with an additional 6 million tons from Lafarge, so we are talking about Ogun State alone producing 24 million tons of cement.
"He has helped us assure potential industries that indeed we promised, and we have provided the required enabling environment for investors to thrive in Ogun State," he said.
Abiodun acknowledged the Dangote Group President for his determination and willingness to partner with Ogun State despite the fact that the immediate past administration in the state frustrated his efforts by demolishing his factory twice and hindering the construction of the Dangote refinery.
"For someone whose factory was demolished twice, whose vision someone else tried to truncate twice, the first time by frustrating the construction of the refinery, a $20 billion investment, an investment that would have impacted the entire Southwest of Nigeria, I am sure that in that refinery, Dangote employs probably 10,000 people at a minimum, with a multiplier effect of maybe another 30,000 who are benefiting indirectly; we lost that.
"They further came here and demolished this cement plant twice. You begin to wonder what informs such types of leadership decisions," he said.
Earlier in his remarks, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, acknowledged Governor Abiodun for his leadership acumen, which he said made him change his mind about investing in Ogun State.
Alhaji Dangote added that with the leadership style of Governor Abiodun, the Dangote Group is now back on site.
He noted that the Dangote Cement plant in Itori is going to create a lot of jobs because the plant has mines, a power plant, and other sections, saying that it is his belief that Governor Abiodun would commission the cement plant before the end of 2026.
"We must thank Your Excellency for your leadership because it is your leadership that actually made us come back to this site.
"It has a very long history where the former administration tried to stop this project because we started it in 2015. We came a year or two later, we restarted, and Governor Amosun then demolished the factory; he also demolished the fence so we wouldn't even come back.
"But with your good leadership, Your Excellency, we are back on site.
"It was a marshy land; a site like this won't create jobs, but because of your leadership, we've now been able to create a plant that will eventually create jobs and also push us into doing the Papalanto road, which is 100 kilometers. I am sure that road will be finished even before the factory," he said.
In his remarks, the Olu of Itori, Oba Akorede Akamo, acknowledged Governor Abiodun for his strides in developing the entirety of the state, saying that he has brought real economic growth to the state.
