Dangote
Cement Plc yesterday announced that it had reviewed the price of cement in the
country downwards with about N100 slashed off the original price of each 50
kilogramme bag of cement.
According
to the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Edwin Devakumar, who spoke to journalists in Lagos,
beginning from today, distributors lifting cement from the various Dangote
cement plants across the country, will pay N100 less per 50 kilogramme bag of
cement.
Devakumar
also stated that to further comply with the ongoing Standards Organisation of
Nigeria (SON) directive and regulation on the various classes of cement and
their prescribed uses, “Dangote Cement Plc has announced plans to launch its
brand of the premium
32.5 cement grade, selling for N200 lower per bag than the
price of the higher strength 42.5 grade.”
The
managing director said the 32.5 cement grade from the stable of Dangote Cement
was also to ensure consumers pay the right
price for the right value so that consumers would not be paying more for
lower grade as is presently the case.
The
largest cement producer in Nigeria noted that the move is to develop an array
of cement types to meet the varied needs of consumers for the different grades
of cement.
Dangote,
with this move, now produces 42.5 for column casting, block making, decking and
other general purpose construction work that require high strength, while also
producing the premium 32.5 grade for plastering and flooring only.
The
company also noted that it would continue with its nationwide campaign and
capacity building which it initiated and had sustained in the past three years,
to ensure that the different grades of cement are easily identified by users
and used only for their prescribed purposes.
The
company is also pushing out the 52.5 grade for specialised construction of high
strength and specialised structures such as bridges, flyovers among others.
The
32.5 grade of cement, which has the lowest strength among the various cement
products is priced lower than the others, selling for N200 lower than the price
of the higher strength 42.5.
Dangote
said in compliance with the SON standard for cement quality and packaging, the
lower 32.5 type on the Dangote shelf will be clearly labelled as such, in order
to prevent the problem of misapplication and misuse of the product, which has
become rampant in the nation’s building and construction industry.
The
company is also to intensify its campaign and training of users on the proper
application of all grades of cement.
Devakumar
also noted that the addition of nine million metric tonnes capacity to its
original 20 million metric tonnes per annum capacity across its various plants
had significantly increased its ability to supply teeming consumers.
According
to him, with the addition of the fresh
nine million capacity, comprising of six million metric tonnes in the
Ibese plant and three million metric tonnes in the Obajana factory, Dangote has extended its capacity of
integrated cement production in the country from about 20 million tonnes per
annum, to around 29 million tonnes.
He
also promised that the expansion which had led to an increased supply of cement
to the nation’s market, has also resulted in the price reduction of around N100
per 50 kilogramme bag of cement.
“We
have significantly increased the supply of cement to the market and as it is
expected, the enhancement in supply of the product to the market has also
resulted to a reasonable reduction in the price of the product,” Devakumar
said.
He
hinted that the formal inauguration of the new nine million tonnes capacity
enhancement would hopefully be carried out by President Goodluck Jonathan next
month.
Thisday
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