- Dangote Cement does not currently have plans to establish a manufacturing plant in Kenya.
- The company says suitable limestone reserves have not been identified to support a large-scale operation.
- Ethiopia and Tanzania have been prioritised for expansion in East Africa.
- Dangote plans to optimise its Mtwara plant in Tanzania and expand production at its Ethiopian facility.
- Kenya remains relevant to Dangote Group’s wider energy plans through the proposed Lamu oil refinery and petrochemical project.
Dangote Cement has left Kenya out of its medium-term manufacturing expansion plans, with the company citing the lack of suitable limestone reserves as a major obstacle to establishing a plant in the country. The decision comes as the Nigerian cement manufacturer works towards expanding its overall production capacity across Africa. According to the company’s plans, about 25 million tonnes of additional capacity is expected to form part of an 80 million-tonne target. Kenya is not included in that programme for the medium term.
Kenya Plant Faces Raw Material Challenge
Dangote Group chief executive Devakumar Edwin Pathak said the company had assessed opportunities in Kenya but had not found limestone deposits that met its requirements. The company is looking for reserves that can support a large manufacturing operation in terms of quantity, quality and location. Pathak said several African markets where Dangote already operates have suitable deposits. Kenya has not yet presented a comparable opportunity.
Pathak said this did not mean Dangote had permanently abandoned the Kenyan market. The company would remain open to reconsidering the country if commercially suitable limestone resources became available. For now, the raw material challenge means Kenya will not feature in the company’s medium-term plans for a new cement plant. The decision keeps Dangote’s manufacturing investment focused on markets where the necessary resources and infrastructure are already available.
Dangote’s immediate focus in the region is shifting towards Ethiopia, where its existing cement operation has room for further investment. The company’s West Shewa plant in Mugher has an annual production capacity of approximately 2.5 million tonnes. The facility is already an established part of Dangote’s African manufacturing network. Expansion there would therefore build on an existing operation rather than require the company to establish a completely new plant.
The strategy reflects Dangote’s broader approach to controlling the cost of expansion. Existing facilities provide access to established infrastructure, production systems and raw materials. This allows the company to increase output without taking on the same requirements associated with developing a new greenfield plant. Ethiopia is consequently taking priority over Kenya in the company’s current East African manufacturing plans.
Tanzania is also part of the company’s expansion strategy through an optimisation programme at its Mtwara cement plant. Dangote plans to invest about Sh65 billion, equivalent to approximately $500 million, in the project. The upgrade is expected to raise the facility’s production capacity by about 16 per cent. The plant currently produces roughly three million tonnes of cement annually.
Mtwara is already operating at between 85 and 90 per cent of its capacity. Increasing output from the existing facility would allow Dangote to grow production while making use of an established industrial base. The Tanzania investment therefore forms part of the company’s preference for improving existing assets where conditions are already suitable. It also gives the company another route to increase its East African production without building a new plant in Kenya.
Dangote’s plans extend beyond East Africa as it looks at ways of increasing its African production footprint. Zimbabwe and Botswana are among the markets identified for future expansion. The company is also looking at improving the performance of existing facilities in other markets. This approach is intended to increase production while keeping the cost of new investments under control.
The company’s 80 million-tonne production ambition is therefore being pursued through a combination of expansion and optimisation. Rather than immediately establishing plants in every potential market, Dangote is prioritising locations where the business case is supported by available resources and existing operations. Kenya currently does not meet those requirements for a new cement manufacturing facility.
Lamu Project Keeps Kenya Important to Dangote
Although Kenya has been excluded from Dangote Cement’s current plant expansion programme, the country remains significant to the wider Dangote Group. The company is pursuing plans for a proposed oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Lamu. The project has been estimated at Sh2.59 trillion, or about $20 billion, and a groundbreaking was planned for September 30.
The proposed investment gives Kenya a different role in Dangote’s regional strategy. While the country does not currently feature in the group’s medium-term cement manufacturing plans, its potential energy and petrochemical opportunities remain important. Dangote’s interests in Kenya could therefore continue through sectors outside cement production.
For the cement business, the immediate direction is clear. Ethiopia and Tanzania will carry much of the group’s planned East African manufacturing growth, while Zimbabwe and Botswana feature in its wider African expansion outlook. Kenya could still attract a future Dangote cement investment if suitable limestone reserves are identified, but the company currently has no plant planned for the country in the medium term.
