The cement factory to be built in Mtwara is scheduled to start production after 27 months from now and would have the capacity to produce three million tonnes annually.
Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Centre, Mrs Juliet Kairuki
The investment is expected to create 12,000 jobs. The TIC Executive Director, Ms Juliet Kairuki, said this at the weekend after meeting a delegation of officials from the Dangote Group. She said that the government was fast tracking a land title deed for the company.
“We are also making sure that all necessary legal documents are processed on time for the company to ensure smooth operations,” she said. She said that TIC will connect the investor with other government’s appropriate ministries and agencies to make sure that the process goes on well for the mutual benefit of the two sides.
The Group’s Managing Director, Mr D. Edwin thanked TIC and the government for encouraging them to invest in Tanzania. “We appreciate the help we have got so far,” he said.
He said his company believes that cement to be produced will be commercially competitive and benefit the country’s construction sector which is very crucial in attaining sustainable development.
“Our philosophy is to have products in the market at reasonable price,” he said, adding that Africa should use its own resources for the benefit of Africans. Upon completion, the investment expects to be valued at US$750 mil. Statistics shows that Tanzania had a cement deficit of one million tonnes by 2011, so this investment will help solve this problem because the country’s annual demand is three million tonnes.
The investor has interests in various parts of the African continent. Apart from cement, Dangote Group also owns sugar refineries, flour milling and salt processing facilities in the continent.
According to Forbes Magazine, the Nigerian billionaire has a net wealth valued at $ 11.2 billion as of March 2012. He is ranked at number 76 in the world in the Forbes billionaires list and the richest in his native country and Africa.
With the completion of the industry, it is expected that Tanzania will be a net exporter of the cement as fully supported by the projected strong demand from its neighbouring countries of Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
