Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote is setting up a $100 million vehicle assembly plant in Lagos to help tackle employment crisis in the country and the need to conserve forex in view of the current economic recession.
Mr. Anthony Chiejina, the Chief Corporate Communication Officer of Dangote Group, confirmed the project, saying Dangote would be partnering a leading Chinese Company, SINOTRUK to produce several thousands of trucks used mainly for haulage from its newly promoted assembly plant at Ikeja, Lagos.
The plant will be stirring out heavy duty trucks on which the Dangote Group spends huge amount to import for distribution of its products both locally and across the continent.
The deal expected to have an assembly plant that would produce 10,000 trucks annually wa signed in May 2014 in China, making it the 8th of Shandong, China (SINOTRUK), to be built, Vanguard reports.
The plant is estimated to provide job opportunities for 3000 people once operational.
Sources say that the plant is 60 per cent owned by Dangote Group while the remaining 40 per cent is owned by SINOTRUK.
Chiejina said there would be room for the expansion of the project in future to meet the national truck demand and possibly export to neighbouring countries to generate foreign exchange for Nigeria.
