Dangote Cement bets on Africa demand with capacity push

Dangote Cement's exports of cement and clinker rose 18.6% year over year to 1.4 million mt in 2025, driven by 34 clinker shipments to Ghana and Cameroon, as the Nigerian producer advances plans to transform the country into a regional export hub.

The jump in exports comes even as group-wide cement volumes edged down 0.9% to 27.5 million mt, the company said in its annual report Feb. 28. The performance underscores Dangote's strategy to leverage its export terminals at Apapa and Onne to tap growing demand across sub-Saharan Africa, where infrastructure investment and urbanization are fuelling consumption of construction materials.

"This performance reinforces our vision of positioning Nigeria as a low-cost regional hub and replacing expensive intercontinental imports with competitive African production," Arvind Pathak, CEO of Dangote Cement, said. "Our export terminals at Apapa and Onne continue to prove their strategic value, and we remain firmly on track to achieve our ambitious target of 10 million mt of combined exports by 2030."

The company is also pressing ahead with capacity additions and expansion projects across Africa to support its export ambitions and capture a larger share of regional cement demand.

Agreement with Sinoma Engineering

On Feb. 27, Dangote signed a $1 billion agreement with China's Sinoma Engineering to develop 12 cement projects across seven African countries, aiming to lift total capacity to 80 million mt/year by 2030 from current levels. The deal marks a significant step in Dangote's strategy to consolidate its position as a regional cement hub and scale up exports across sub-Saharan Africa.

The projects span Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Cameroon, and include both greenfield developments and brownfield expansions at existing facilities.

In Nigeria, the agreement covers a new integrated production line with a satellite grinding unit, alongside capacity additions at plants in Itori, Apapa, Lekki, Port Harcourt and Onne. The expansion will strengthen Dangote's domestic footprint while supporting its ambition to position Nigeria as a low-cost export platform for neighboring markets.

Sinoma Engineering will oversee construction, brownfield expansions and modernization initiatives designed to improve production efficiency and strengthen regional distribution networks.

"Looking ahead, we are confident in our growth trajectory and our ability to capitalize on Africa's robust cement demand fundamentals," Pathak said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy's assessment for Cement clinker (OPC grey clinker) was at $45/mt, up $.0.25/mt week over week on Feb. 26.