*Says Dangote has built over a hundred cement depots across Nigeria
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Dangote Cement’s National Sales Director, Mrs. Fumi Sanni has disclosed that Dangote Cement Plc is to establish a Block Moulders Academy.
Speaking at the Dangote Special Day at the just concluded Africa International Housing Show in Abuja (AIHS), Mrs Sanni said the Academy would be structured and equipped to support the seamless transfer of requisite skills to block makers and artisans in the real estate sector of the economy.
The Dangote Cement’s National Sales Director pointed out that the Academy has become necessary as most of the artisans and block makers are aging, while young men are not enthusiastic about the profession.
According to Mrs Sanni, one of the sure ways of reducing the phenomenon of building collapse is to check quackery, while imparting the needed skills to the block makers and artisans, and that Dangote Cement was also ready to support the block makers who will pass through the Academy with machineries and tools.
She said as part of the effort to ensuring cement availability, Dangote Cement has built over a hundred cement depots across the country.
Dangote Cement Group’s Head, Sales and Marketing Mr. Rabiu Umar while speaking said Dangote Cement has contributed enormously to development of the real estate sector through massive investments in cement that has made the product sufficiently available, adding ” over twenty years ago, we were importing cement, today, we are exporting cement,”
Mr. Umar identified rapid urbanization, high cost of land acquisition, rising cost of construction materials, lack of basic infrastructure, inaccurate housing demographics, poor funding/lack of access to affordable finance and inadequate policies as some of the factors affecting the provision of housing in Nigeria.
“Towards helping to address housing shortages, Dangote Cement set up a department whose focus is to attend to the challenges and needs of real estate development in our market. The idea is to engage in project partnerships, collaborations, and participation in Real Estate development initiative in Nigeria.
“Part of our efforts towards ameliorating the housing shortage is by constructing large cement plants in Nigeria and many African countries. These plants ensure that the basic raw material in the housing sector, cement, is readily available in sufficient quantities.
“We have a dedicated fleet of trucks to deliver both bagged and bulk cement to customers and construction sites. We have established depots near all major markets, therefore bridging the distance between the plants and distributors.”
The company’s Head, Technical Sales Mr. Aniki Adeize Ayodeji in his remarks said the company currently trains the artisan on the right mix.
