In a statement, Dangote Industries Limited has announced its proposal to set up plants to produce fertiliser and cement in Togo. The company said that it has signed some deals with the government of Togo to set up the facilities. This is reportedly Dangote’s first foray into Togo. Its competitors in the country will be Germany’s Heidelberg Cement, which operates three companies as well as Fortia Cement in the country. Through the partnership with Dangote Group, Togo is expected to benefit from the expertise and investment capacity of Africa’s biggest industrial group.
According to the initial estimate of the firm, the cement factory would cost about $60m with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tonnes. The manufacturing facility is expected to meet both the local need and demand from the neighbouring region.
The company revealed that the plant, to be located in Lome, would use clinker from Togo and Nigeria. Dangote Industries Limited stated it plans to start the construction of the Lome plant in the first quarter of 2020. The inauguration of the plant is expected to take place before the end of the year.
Regarding the fertiliser production, it pointed out that with over two billion tonnes of phosphate reserves, Togo offered great potential as one of the leading producers in Africa. Togo’s vast phosphate resources are mostly exported in their raw form. Dangote’s project will process some to produce fertiliser locally and export to the region. The Togolese government projected a cost of $2bn for the project, which is in line with the second pillar of the Togo National Development Plan, and would enable the production of more than one million tonnes of fertilisers .
