KEY POINTS

• Dangote Cement signed a $1 billion MOU with Sinoma Engineering covering 12 projects in seven countries.
• The company crossed N1 trillion in profit after tax in 2025, its first time ever.
• Dangote Cement targets 10 million combined export tonnes by 2030 using Apapa and Onne terminals.

Dangote Cement has signed a $1 billion agreement with China’s Sinoma International Engineering to expand production capacity across seven African countries, pushing toward a target of 80 million tonnes per year by 2030, a 45 percent jump from current output levels.

The memorandum of understanding, signed in Lagos, covers 12 projects in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Cameroon. Sinoma will manage new plant construction, brownfield expansions at existing facilities and modernization work across all markets.

Within Nigeria specifically, new and expanded facilities will rise at Itori, Apapa, Lekki, Port Harcourt and Onne, alongside a new integrated production line in Northern Nigeria that includes a satellite grinding unit.

A record year fueling a bigger bet

The announcement follows Dangote Cement’s strongest financial performance to date. The company posted profit after tax of more than N1 trillion in 2025, the first time it crossed that threshold. Revenue climbed 20.3 percent to N4.31 trillion, while EBITDA rose 43.4 percent to N1.98 trillion. Chief Executive Officer Arvind Pathak called 2025 a landmark year.

Exports also gained momentum. Cement and clinker shipments from Nigeria rose 18.6 percent last year, with 34 ships going to Ghana and Cameroon. The company now targets 10 million combined export tonnes by 2030, using its terminals at Apapa and Onne as the primary launch points for regional supply.

The case for spending big right now

Aliko Dangote, founder and chairman of Dangote Group, described the expansion projects as core to the group’s Vision 2030 strategy, which targets $100 billion in annual revenue across all its industrial businesses. Pathak added that the Sinoma agreement reflects the company’s resolve to close supply gaps that have kept parts of Africa dependent on cement imports from outside the continent. “We are committed to making Africa self-sufficient in cement production,” he said.

According to Billionaires Africa, the company currently runs plants in 11 African countries with total installed capacity of 55 million tonnes per year. It also recently expanded gas supply agreements with Nigerian Gas Marketing Limited and NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company to fuel higher volumes and cut transport costs through the adoption of compressed natural gas across its operations.