FG Fixes Cement Price, Gives Dangote, BUA, Other Manufacturers Deadline To Comply

The Federal Government through the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has asked cement manufacturers to lower the cost of the product to N7,000 per 50kg bag or be reported to President Bola Tinubu.

The minister explained his request, stressing that the exchange rate had stabilised and petrol costs were also crashing, with plans to fix major roads in the country.

According to the minister, the exchange rate is now N1,400 to a dollar, urging cement manufacturers to lower the product’s price.

Umahi said contractors have complained that they wanted to revert to asphalt in road construction due to the high cement costs.

He said when the exchange was N2,000 to a dollar, cement manufacturers raised the price to N7,500, asking why the product would still be selling at N9,500 per 50kg bag.

He asked them to lower the price within seven days, or he would officially report them to the President.

New cement firms enter Nigeria

A recent report showed that Huaxin Cement Company, the Chinese firm and prospective buyer of Holcim’s 83% stake in Lafarge Africa, reportedly valued 100% of the company’s shareholding at $1.6 billion.

The group is set to cough up $838.8 million to acquire Holcim’s stake in Lafarge Africa.

It also estimated the enterprise value of Lafarge Africa as between $1.06 billion and $1.59 billion.

The valuation was disclosed in the firm’s filing on the Hong Kong Exchange.

According to reports, the valuation assumes cement prices in Nigeria to range from between $100 and $150 per tonne, based on Lafarge’s annual production capacity of 10.6 million tonnes.

Lafarge Africa stated that the acquisition aligns with Huaxin’s overseas expansion plan, focusing on leveraging its expertise in industrial technology and production chain integration to drive growth.