The 11 states of Nigeria that form the South East and South South zones have consumed more than sixmillion t before March this year. The region had consumed a total 5.3 million t of cement last year. Clearly the demand is on the rise. The country has only four cement plants of which only two appear to be in operation. The shortfall has to be met by imports.
‘There is a huge supply gap in these markets that needs to be filled,’ says Olivier Lenoir, Managing Director of UniCem. UniCem is the major supplier in the region with an installed capacity of 1.8 million t. The company plans to grow its capacity to 2.3 million t this year and to add another 2.5 million t to its production line by the end of year 2016.