African cement giant in $4B deal with Sinoma

Nigeria's Dangote Cement has announced a $4.34 billion deal with Chinese construction company Sinoma International Engineering to build plants across Africa. The project is expected to add 25 million tons of capacity across 11 African countries and Nepal, Dangote said in a statement on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News. Dangote Cement, controlled by Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has been expanding outside of Nigeria in recent years, signaling the company's increasingly international ambitions. The new plants will increase capacity to around 71 million tons and Dangote is targeting further gains to about 100 million tons by 2020, Dangote said in a speech in Lagos, according to Bloomberg. Speaking at a ceremony to inaugurate a $400 million plant in Zambia earlier this month, Dangote said cement production was a "symbol of African development."