Dangote Industries has commenced building of $ 400 million cement manufacturing plant in Zambia. The ground-breaking ceremony in Masaiti near Ndola, Zambia’s manufacturing hub was performed by Zambian President, Rupiah Bwezani Banda, who called on other African entrepreneurs to direct their investment to African countries. The ceremony was attended by top government officials, ministers, and business leaders. The president said that it is the largest cement plant in Zambia and would to a great extent help his government in the task of job creation and poverty alleviation. The plant when completed, is expected to produce 1.5 million tonnes of cement annually, and will provide direct jobs for over 1,000 unemployed Zambians, with additional 6,000 indirect jobs for the locals. Dangote assured the Zambian government of the timely completion of the plant, which will make Zambia the 10th country where the company has invested in cement manufacturing in line with its pan-African drive. Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group explained that going by projections, the cement plant with an installed capacity of 1.5 million metric tonne per annum, will be up and running within 27 months and will therefore, likely come on stream by mid-2013.