Alhaji Dahiru Mangal is no stranger to the big leagues. In the Nigerian business ecosystem, the billionaire businessman has shown to be one that deserves all the awe and respect.... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
His sprawling empire under the aegis of AFDIN Group has interests across various sectors including aviation, agriculture, manufacturing, oil and gas, and construction. Mangal’s new venture and contribution to Nigeria’s economic growth has been applauded by many of his compatriots.
In fact, sources claimed that this businessman who made his initial fortune from importation was to become a prominent local manufacturer after the intervention of the late President Umar Yar’Adua who was said to have invited and encouraged him to embrace manufacturing while assuring him of the Federal Government support.
Albeit a really tough decision to make, but the businessman mustered the courage, invested his hard earned money and today, owns one of the biggest rice mills in Africa; a fertilizer plant and now a multi-billion dollar cement factory.
Essentially, the Katsina-born business magnate’s milestone moment came last week when he announced the completion of his $1.5 billion cement plant in Kogi, Nigeria with the first set of bags of cement rolled out and launched at a grand ceremony.
Mangal’s new venture is coming in the wake of fierce competition among the three top cement makers —Dangote, LaFarge and BUA— and their failure to drive down the price of cement. Mangal’s new Cement plant will produce 200 trucks of cement daily and create 10,000 direct and many more indirect jobs.
Spotlight learnt that Mangal’s decision to expand his empire was intentional and strategic. In November 2021, Mangal signed a deal with Chinese firm, Sinoma Engineering to build his cement factory in Moba, Kogi.
Initially budgeted at $600 million but costs jumped to $1.5billion due to the devaluation of naira and spike in the foreign exchange rate. But against all odds, Mangal has finally rolled out bags of cement from his brand-new plant in Moba with promises to employ the latest cutting-edge technology and adhere to the highest environmental standards.
The billionaire has also entered into a 10-year operation and maintenance agreement with Finland-based Wärtsilä for a 50MW captive power plant to power the facility. With Mangal’s entry to the cement turf, industry buffs believe things will no longer be the same as the game is afoot.
