Dangote Cement Rules Out Kenya Plant Over Limestone Supply Challenges

By Adedapo Adesanya

Dangote Cement Plc has ruled out establishing a manufacturing plant in Kenya in the medium term, citing difficulties in securing suitable limestone reserves for a large-scale operation.

The company’s chief executive, Mr Arvind Pathak, disclosed this during Dangote Cement’s Capital Markets Day in London on September 21, according to Kenyan media reports.

Mr Pathak said Kenya is not included in the company’s current business plan to raise production capacity to 80 million tonnes, which involves an additional 25 million tonnes of capacity.

“Right now in our business plan, which we have presented for 80 million tonnes, Kenya is not figured in that. So in this period, that is the medium term, we do not envisage having a plant in Kenya,” he said.

He explained that Dangote Cement had identified sizable, high-quality limestone deposits in several countries where it operates but had yet to find a comparable opportunity in Kenya.

Mr Pathak, however, said the company remained open to entering the Kenyan cement market if it identified limestone reserves that met its requirements for size, quality and proximity to the market.

Instead, Dangote Cement’s East African expansion will focus on Ethiopia, where its existing operation is producing at maximum capacity.

The company’s West Shewa plant in Mugher, Ethiopia, has an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes and is being expanded to increase output as part of Dangote Cement’s broader growth strategy.

In Tanzania, Dangote Cement is implementing a low-cost optimisation programme at its Mtwara plant, which cost about $500 million to build. The programme is expected to increase the plant’s production capacity by 16 per cent.

The Mtwara facility currently produces about three million tonnes of cement annually and operates at between 85 and 90 per cent capacity.

Beyond East Africa, the company’s next expansion phase will focus largely on upgrading existing plants while exploring new markets, including Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Dangote Cement’s decision comes as the group continues to deepen its broader East African interests, including plans for a major oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Kenya.

The chairman of the group, Mr Aliko Dangote, is expected to break ground on the proposed $17 billion Lamu oil refinery and petrochemical complex on September 30, with Kenya expected to serve as a key market for the project.