Dangote Cement takes delivery of $150m trucks for distribution of products

Dangote Cement has taken delivery of cargo trucks, tippers, trailers and bulk cement tankers worth $150 million to improve distribution products across Nigeria.
The company, made the disclosure in a statement to newsmen on Sunday.
It also disclosed the company has rolled out 2,000 trucks to address distribution and availability of cement across the country, especially among its value-chain service providers.
In addition, the fertilizer unit also took delivery of 500 trucks from Dangote Sinotruk West Africa Limited: a joint venture between Dangote Industries Limited and Sinotruk (China) for the distribution of Urea to different States in Nigeria.
Alhaji Abdu Dantata, Group Executive Director – Logistics and Distribution, Dangote Industries Limited, said the assets would meet the increase in demand for transportation of cement to every part of the country and create employment of over 4,000 people in Nigeria.
He said the newly acquired trucks were expected to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Dangote Cement Logistics network of distribution nationwide.
This, Dantata, said would improve the company’s efficiency as it plans to commission its new cement plant in Okpella, Edo in few weeks.
“We have acquired the new trucks in line with our new expansion capacity in Obajana, Ibese, Gboko and the new cement plant at Okpella.
“The acquisition is due to the growing needs of the business, especially as regards the increased trucking demands encountered lately, due to the surge in the demand for cement.
“The establishment of our clinker export terminals at Apapa and Onne Port led to the purchase of heavy duty tippers for haulage of clinker from the plants to the terminals.
“The introduction of these trucks would improve customers’ demand, improve on job creation in the country, as well as promote the economic development of Nigeria,” he said.
Dantata disclosed that the company had taken into serious consideration the issue of safety of truck drivers and road users.
This, he said, necessitated the collaboration between the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the company to attain zero tolerance to road crashes in the country.
He said the company has embarked on adequate training on effective driving techniques.
According to him, the collaboration involves recertification of drivers, pre-trip and post-trip inspection, drug test, real time tracking of vehicles, root cause analysis, convoy movement, checkpoint policy and sanctions among several others.