Dangote plans N64 billion cement investment in Kenya

The Dangote Group has promised to invest
$400 million (about N64 billion) in cement
production in Kenya in the next two years.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Chairman
of the Group, Aliko Dangote, during a Nigeria-
Kenya Business Forum held in Nairobi.
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 official visit of President
Jonathan 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.