Dangote Backs Itori Expansion With $800 Million Investment

Dangote Industries Limited is making one of the biggest manufacturing investments in Nigeria this year, committing more than $800 million to expand its cement plant in Itori, Ogun State, in a move that will double the facility's annual production capacity from six million to 12 million metric tonnes.

The investment follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Dangote Industries Limited and Sinoma International Engineering Co. Ltd. The agreement was executed by Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote and Sinoma Chairman Lin Zhong, extending a partnership that has delivered several of Africa's largest cement manufacturing facilities.

For Dangote Cement, the expansion answers two priorities at once: meeting rising demand within Nigeria and supplying more cement to export markets across Africa. When completed, the Itori plant will serve both domestic customers and international buyers, strengthening Nigeria's footprint in regional and global cement trade.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Aliko Dangote said the project forms part of the company's long-term expansion strategy and its contribution to Nigeria's industrial development. He credited President Bola Tinubu with creating an environment that has encouraged private sector investment, adding that the decision to enlarge the Itori facility was driven by Nigeria's renewed adoption of concrete for road construction and the company's export ambitions across the African continent.

Dangote said the investment also aligns with the company's Vision 2030 target of producing between 90 million and 100 million metric tonnes of cement annually.

He said doubling the Itori plant's capacity would strengthen local supply, expand export volumes, generate additional foreign exchange earnings, create jobs and deepen regional trade. He described the investment as a demonstration of the company's confidence in Nigeria's economy and in Africa's manufacturing potential.

Dangote also acknowledged Sinoma's role in the group's expansion over the years, noting that the engineering company has been instrumental in delivering world-class cement plants that now underpin the group's manufacturing network.

Lin Zhong described the agreement as another defining moment in the relationship between both companies. He said their collaboration has consistently produced some of the continent's most modern and efficient cement production facilities and that the Itori project would build on that record.

According to him, Sinoma will deploy its engineering expertise, advanced technology and international experience to deliver the expansion to the highest standards.

He added that the project reinforces Nigeria's emergence as a strategic manufacturing and export hub for Africa while highlighting growing international confidence in the country's industrial sector. He said partnerships of this scale remain essential to advancing infrastructure development, economic growth and sustainable industrialisation across the continent.

With production capacity set to reach 12 million metric tonnes annually, the expanded Itori plant will rank among Nigeria's major cement production centres, supplying both domestic and export markets while strengthening the country's industrial and manufacturing base.