Dangote Industries Limited says it has signed an agreement with China Sinoma International Engineering to build a six million tons per annum cement plant in Itori, Ogun State.

According to a statement by the firm, the agreement was signed by the Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote, alongside the company’s Group Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Devakumar Edwin, while China Sinoma Engineering was represented by its Group President, Yin Zhisong, and the company’s Chairman, Liu Renyue.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dangote said that the integrated cement plant, upon completion would strengthen the local production capacity of Dangote Cement, bringing its local capacity to 41.25 million tons per annum and total African capacity to 57.6 million tons per annum.

He said the Itori Cement Plant would also increase Nigeria’s capacity to export cement, thereby enabling more diversification and foreign exchange inflows for the economy

According to Dangote, the project was expected to develop the domestic economy through creation of thousands of indirect and direct jobs and drive economic development in the Itori axis.

Ancillary businesses, he stated, would be drawn to the axis, who would be seeking to take advantage of the location of the cement plant to provide goods and services to staff, contractors and other stakeholders.

He added that constructing the new cement plant was in line with the company’s vision of producing locally made goods that were formerly imported despite the abundance of raw materials for local production of such goods.