TheCable

Dangote Cement Plc says it plans to boost production in order to meet the rising demand for the commodity and reduce its price.

Speaking with journalists on Monday, Rabiu Umar, group chief sales and marketing director of Dangote Cement, said the company has invested in a new line at Obajana, Kogi state, which would soon commence operations.

“We have a new plant in Okpella, Edo state, that will start operations very soon. For the last couple of years one of our plants in Gboko, Benue State has not worked, but we have re-started the plant all in a bid to make sure there is enough production,” Umar said.

“In every business, what drives the price is the demand and supply. Now as a business, we have not increased our price up until this point. So what has happened in price increment in the cement products is the forces of demand and supply.”

Umar noted that the company had no control over the prices at which retailers sold cement in the market.

He said that the company has stopped exporting cement to ensure that local demand is met.

Umar explained that the surge in demand for cement in different parts of the world was occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, Nigeria is no exception as a combination of monetary policy changes and low capital market returns has resulted in a significant increase in construction activity.

Umar said the company would be bringing in 2,000 new trucks to solve difficulties in distribution.

“We are buying these trucks and putting them out there to make sure that the distribution is also taken care of. This new development will lead to thousands of direct jobs in the country, apart from both direct and indirect jobs that the plants will also create,” he added.

“Globally, by the time we are done, we believe that the additional capacity we will put in the market compared to what we have today is probably the size of each of our competitors in terms of the additional volume that we will put in the market.”