The realization of this industrial infrastructure will put an end to twelve years of disruption in the sub-sector of extraction and firing of national limestone rocks, consecutive to the closure of the country's last operating unit in 2014. Scheduled on a 36-month execution timeline, the future site will integrate a production line with a nominal capacity of 3,500 tonnes of clinker per day, allowing a cumulative annual capacity of approximately 1.2 million tonnes. The stakes of this heavy engineering unit lie in reversing the trade balance for cement inputs. Until now reliant on international markets for the entirety of their grinding inputs (with an annual import volume nearing 900,000 tonnes of clinker), cement plants operating on Gabonese territory, such as CIMAF Gabon, Cimgabon, and Africa Ciment, will have a sovereign supply hub. While national cement consumption fluctuates between 600,000 and 700,000 tonnes per year for a local grinding capacity exceeding 850,000 tonnes, the clinker surplus will enable the response to urban planning imperatives and the reduction of the social housing deficit, estimated at over 200,000 units.

The acceleration of this program aligns with the trade policy guidelines set by the transitional authorities, who have formalized an embargo on clinker imports effective January 1, 2027. The gradual ramp-up of the Malibé complex is therefore critical to avoid any supply disruption on the domestic market by the time this protectionist measure takes effect. Stemming from the resolutions of the Gabon-China Economic Forum of September 2024 (which mobilized over 2,150 billion CFA francs in financial commitments), this cement plant will generate at least 200 direct jobs upon its operational phase, while consolidating the vertical integration of the Gabonese industrial fabric.


Nlend Flore

Tags: gabon clinker ciment usine malibé industrie importation emploi forum economique gabon-chine souverainete industrielle