The company’s ‘debottling’ programme underpinned by new industry technology will lead to the availability of about 2 million tons of incremental capacity and will address the market’s medium-term growth prospects, El Dokani says. He expects the utilisation rate will increase from about 55% now, to about 80% in two years.
Analysts have questioned whether the company’s plans are ambitious enough. In the first quarter of 2021, according to analysts at Chapel Hill Denham, Lafarge only had about 7 million metric tons (mmt) of operational capacity, out of its total installed capacity of 10.5mmt. In the first half of 2021, Dangote Cement lifted Nigerian capacity by 33% to 9.9 mmt, while BUA Cement is planning a new cement line at Kalambaina to increase market share.
- Lafarge is likely to continue to trail behind Dangote Cement and BUA – in capacity terms – at the end of 2022, according to the
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