**Creates 3,000 Jobs
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A $100 million truck assembly plant has been established in Lagos by Dangote Group of Companies as part of its efforts toward boosting foreign exchange and job creation in the country.
According to a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos by the firm, the new plant was set up in partnership a Chinese company called the National Heavy Duty Truck Group Company Limited (SINOTRUK) in 2014.
While Dangote owns 60 percent stake in the assembly plant, SINOTRUK holds 40 percent and the truck plant is expected to create 3,000 direct employments when fully operational.
In the statement, Mr Anthony Chiejina, the Chief Corporate Communication Officer of Dangote Group, was quoted as saying that the plant, located in Ikeja, has the capacity to produce 10,000 trucks annually.
He said before now, Dangote had been spending heavily on importing trucks to distribute its products both locally and across African countries.
Nigeria is a major market for SINOTRUK products, with Dangote Group, operating the largest fleet in Africa, having over 10,000 trucks for the distribution of its products across the continent.
Mr Chiejina said the new company would save Nigeria huge foreign exchange being spent on importation of heavy duty vehicles.
According to him, there will be room for project expansion in future as it meets the national truck demand and will explore exportation to neighbouring countries to generate foreign exchange for the nation.
Mr Chiejina said Aliko Dangote believed that the current economic challenges would make Nigeria stronger if approached positively.
“Alhaji Aliko still believes that Nigeria is one of the best places in the world to do business,” he said.
The assembly plant is coming ahead of a $17 billion Dangote Refinery, petrochemical and fertiliser plants also located in Lagos that would have the capacity to produce 650,000 barrels per day when it commences operations in 2019.
SINOTRUK is the largest exporter of trucks in China for 10 consecutive years, securing a sale of 34,000 trucks out of the 176,000 vehicles exported in 2014.
Its revenue from overseas sales amounted to 9 billion Yuan ($1.45 billion), accounting for about 13 per cent of the total sales.
SINOTRUCK is a Chinese state-owned truck manufacturer, established in 1956, with its headquarters in Jinan, Shandong Province.
