Dangote Group has signed a major investment agreement worth more than $1 billion with the government of Zimbabwe.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Africa’s wealthiest businessman and the company’s CEO, Aliko Dangote announced that the deal covers the establishment of cement and power plants, alongside the construction of a petroleum pipeline.
Speaking to journalists in Harare after meeting President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday, Dangote said the new partnership would mark the company’s formal entry into Zimbabwe’s industrial and energy sectors.
He said, “We have just actually signed an agreement between Zimbabwe and Dangote Group to do various investments in various sectors — some of which, of course, border on cement, some of it in power generation, and some of it in pipelines to bring petroleum products.”
According to Dangote, the project’s value will exceed $1 billion due to the inclusion of the fuel pipeline, while the company is also exploring additional ventures in the country. He praised Mnangagwa’s administration for improving the business environment and restoring investor confidence.
He added, “When you look at what His Excellency has actually done in terms of turning the economy around, that really gave us the confidence that this is the right time for us to come and invest.”
“It’s like somebody who has passed an exam — you have to give them a good mark. His Excellency has passed that exam.”
Dangote’s renewed investment move comes nearly a decade after he first expressed interest in Zimbabwe in 2015, when Dangote Cement Plc announced plans to establish a $400 million plant with a 1.5 million-ton annual capacity.
The latest deal positions Zimbabwe as one of the growing destinations for Dangote’s continental expansion strategy, which already includes large-scale projects in countries like Ethiopia and Zambia.
Earlier in October, Dangote Group began constructing a $2.5 billion fertilizer plant in Gode, Ethiopia, in partnership with Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH). The facility, once completed, will produce about three million metric tonnes of urea annually — ranking among the largest fertilizer complexes in the world.
Dangote Cement also operates a 1.5 million tonnes per annum (mta) plant in Zambia, which began production in 2015.
