Morocco’s Ciments d’Afrique (CIMAF), a subsidiary of the Addoha group, is opening its second Ivorian cement grinding factory this Monday, November 20 in San-Pédro, the second largest port city in Côte d’Ivoire.

With an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes, CIMAF San Pedro required an overall investment of USD 63 million and created 250 jobs. The new plant will bring the total investments of CIMAF in Cote d’Ivoire to USD 153 million.

CIMAF opened its first Ivorian plant in 2013 in the industrial zone of Yopougon (West Abidjan), with a production capacity of 500,000 tons at its start. By early 2016, its production doubled to 1 million tonnes due to additional extensions.

CIMAF San Pedro will focus in part on the Liberian market at first, and Sierra Leone is expected to follow. The recovery of the construction sector in addition to the growth of the real estate sector, represent a considerable potential for the development of the cement industry.

According to Khalid Iben Khayat, General Manager of CIMAF Côte d’Ivoire and Congo, the group intends to support this dynamic by launching a third cement plant in Bouaké for an investment of USD 35 million, with a production capacity of 500,000 tons dedicated exclusively to local market.

These new units will give CIMAF a head start over its competitors, namely the French company Lafarge, the Nigerian Dangote Cements, and a Turkish cement plant. Sefrioui’s investments will enable the Ivorian market to bring aggregate production in Côte d’Ivoire to 5.5 million tonnes for a consumption of 3.5 million tonnes, which should open the export market.

Also present in the real estate sector, the Addoha group is engaged in a project to build 8,620 housing units in Abidjan, including 8,000 with two or three rooms in Locodjro, and 620 dwellings of three or four room in Koumassi (southern Abidjan). However, these projects are yet to see the light of the day due to land disputes with local owners.