NATIONALS of the ECOWAS sub-region at the borders were taken aback at the mere size of the products for exports and gridlock as 50 silo trucks of Dangote Group queued for inspections by the Nigeria Customs Service.
The product — bulk cement is from its Ibese Cement Plant — the plant consists of two production lines of three million metric tonnes per annum each, and currently provides jobs for about 7,000 Nigerians.
the Dangote Cement Plant in Ibese, Ogun State, hit its expected daily production capacity of 16,000 metric tonnes.
The Ibese Cement Plant, which was commissioned on February 9, 2012, commenced production with a daily output of 12,000 metric tonnes, but it is designed with an installed capacity to produce 16,000 metric tonnes per day.
The factory is a modern plant with an installed capacity of six million metric tonnes of cement per annum and currently ranks as the largest cement plant in sub-Sahara Africa. The feat recorded by Dangote Ibese Plant remained a remarkable achievement considering the fact, that the plant only came into operation in last year and is now producing at full capacity.
According to Mr. Simeon Ebbah, the boss of Trans-Royal Company Ltd., one of the forwarding agents handling the export, “at present, Dangote is sending 50 silo trucks as its first batch to Ghana. This action of Dangote has single-handedly boosted Nigerian non-oil export and revenue profile.”
“But we have challenges. The problem of logistics of transport, which I think Dangote could match appropriately. At the same time the demand of security agents and touts in the border are just too much; their demand nearly frustrated us.
“The government should as a matter of urgency instruct all its agencies at the border to facilitate export. Export is differrent from import; it creates employment and boosts the revenue of the Federal Government. But import creates employment for the country you are importing from.
“They are asking for the sum of N5,000 per truck, mutiply that yourselve and see what happens — they are increasing the export cost of Nigerian products in the export market. How can the exporter remain competitive in international market. Government should be talking to its agencies at the border. They are too many in the border — about 26 to 30 agencies at our border making frivolous demands.”
Dangote Cement commissioned its first overseas Cement Terminal in 2011 in Accra Port in Ghana with a bagging capacity of 1.5 MTPA. The decision to opt for import terminals in Ghana was due to lack of substantial limestone deposits in the region. Ghana Cement Terminal also enables Dangote Cement supply to the neighbouring land-lock nations which pay very high cost for cement due to excessive transportation cost.
This modern Cement Terminal has a dedicated berth for Cement Import equipped with high speed BHW ship unloaders, Large Fleet of Bulk Tankers to transport cement to a nearby terminal where cement is stored in silos and packed into 50 Kgs pilfer free polysacks for retail distribution.
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