Dangote plans N64 billion cement investment in Kenya

by Adeola Balogun

Dangote plans N64 billion cement investment in Kenya

A few days after announcing its refinery building bid, the Dangote group is set to take another giant stride.

The group has disclosed a plan to invest massively in the cement production sector in Kenya, specifically to the tune of $400 million (about N64 billion) in the next two years.

The move was revealed yesterday by the Chairman of the Group, Aliko Dangote, during a Nigeria-Kenya Business Forum held in Nairobi.

According to reports, the forum, which was jointly presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan and his counterpart from Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta, was attended by more than 500 investors from Nigeria and Kenya. It was part of the activities lined up for the second day of President Jonathan’s official visit to Kenya.

Dangote, who served as the chairman of the dialogue group, said that the forum underscored the need for Africa to look inward in partnership in trade and investments.

He said the forum decried the situation where intra-trade in the continent is below 12 per cent and decided to use the Nigeria-Kenya initiative as model in Africa.

Dangote thanked Presidents Jonathan and Kenyatta for creating the window of opportunity for the business community to interact on way to improve trade between both countries.

According to him, Kenya would assist Nigeria in boosting sectors where it has comparative advantages such as tourism and hospitality, horticulture, dairy, sugar and ICT while Nigeria would assist Kenya in the oil and gas sector, movie and entertainment industry, agriculture and banking sectors.

President Kenyatta announced at the forum that there will be five to ten years visa duration for Nigerian business men coming to Kenya.

Stressing that the policy would ease the challenges of visa procurement and encourage investors from Nigeria to Kenya, he said that he was taking cue from President Jonathan who had already approved the policy in Nigeria.

It was also disclosed that a leading Indian textile manufacturing company, Bei Textile Ltd, intends to invest in textile and garment in Nigeria.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the forum to strengthen the already existing Nigeria-Kenya Chamber for Commerce and Industry.

Presidents Jonathan and Kenyatta assured the forum of the political will of their respective administration to support the initiative.

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