(Business in Cameroon) - At the end of March, production commenced at Dangote’s cement factory in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital. The company will now begin to sell its products.

Originally set at one million tonnes, Dangote Cement Cameroon’s factory will actually produce 1.6 million tonnes per annum, according to figures revised after the plant’s opening. The Dangote group will launch its Cameroonian subsidiary with a production volume equal to that of the Lafarge group’s subsidiary, Cimenteries du Cameroon (Cimencam) which held the monopoly on the cement market for almost 50 years.

With an investment totalling 50 billion FCFA, Dangote’s cement factory in Douala will have a permanent staff of 77 Cameroonians, 11 expatriates and around 250 temporary workers each month. It will help to increase national production from 2.1 million tonnes (1.6 million tonnes for Cimencam and 500,000 tonnes for the Addoha group’s Cimaf) to 3.7 million tonnes, enabling national demand to be met while exporting to countries within the sub-region.