Nigeria's Dangote Group, which has seen a rapid expansion on the continent, has signed an agreement to set up a $400 million cement plant in Ethiopia, state media said on Thursday.

The deal was signed on Wednesday between Dangote's president and CEO Aliko Dangote and officials from the Ethiopia's Oromiya region, where the plant will be constructed with an aim of producing two million tonnes per year.

The project is scheduled to be finalised in two years time, Ethiopian Television said in a report.

Dangote, Africa's most successful businessman, controls about two-thirds of the Nigerian cement market and seeks to expand his interests in the world's poorest continent.

Dangote has also invested in Ghana's 1.2 million tonnes per year Tema Cement Factory, and other plants in Senegal, Zambia, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.


Source: Reuters