Dangote Slashes Cement Price To N1000 Per Bag

Leading cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement Plc, weekend, announced
drastic reduction of the prices of its cement.
The new price regime announced by the Group Managing Director/Chief
Executive Officer, GMD/CEO, of Dangote Cement, Mr. Devakumar Edwin,
pegged the Dangote 32.5 cement grade at N1,000 per 50 kg bag, while
the higher 42.5 grade would sell for N1,150 per bag.

A statement by the company at the end of a management meeting said,
however, that the new prices were exclusive of the Value Added Tax,
VAT, representing about 40 per cent discount on the prevailing market
price of the product currently sold for N1,700 irrespective of the
grade, across the country.

Edwin said the move was in line with the company's commitment to the
nation's dire need for the development of infrastructure and to boost
the federal and state government's ongoing effort to reduce the near
20 million housing deficit in Africa's largest economy.

He said, "we recognize the need for an increased rapid response to the
huge infrastructure and housing deficit in the country, and one of the
ways of addressing the issue is bringing the price of building
materials down to much more affordable levels especially cement which
is within our control as part of our contribution to the
transformation agenda of the Goodluck Jonathan administration and the
attainment of key milestones in the Millennium Development Goals,
MDGs.

"Since the commencement of the implementation of the backward
integration policy for cement in the country over 12 years ago, the
local production capacity of the product rose from less than three
million metric tonnes per annum to about 38 million metric tonnes per
annum. During the more than 12-year period of the backward integration
policy, nearly $20 billion has been directly and indirectly injected
into the Nigerian cement industry with Dangote Cement Plc accounting
for 60 per cent of that spend."

The GMD/CEO added that Dangote Cement Plc would continue to ensure
alignment of its corporate social responsibility with its strategic
business initiatives and will continue to evaluate its pricing regime
in Nigeria's best interest.

Meanwhile, the timing of the initiative has confounded industry
watchers, who say that from experience, the cement market is on the
verge of entering the accelerated demand phase as the raining season
is tapering and the dry season which provides the opportunity for
increased construction and building activities is setting in.
--Vanguard