Morocco's CIMAF Group has emerged victorious in a competitive bidding process, successfully acquiring Chad's national cement company, Société Nationale de Ciment (SONACIM). The new entity will be named CIM-TCHAD SA. This acquisition marks the beginning of a new development phase for Chad's cement industry, with the potential to enhance the sector's competitiveness and support national infrastructure development.

The signing ceremony for the acquisition took place on February 27th at Chad's Ministry of Trade and Industry, with government officials from the trade and finance sectors in attendance. The government stated that CIMAF's entry will inject new vitality into Chad's cement industry. Through modernization and capacity enhancement, it aims to meet the growing domestic demand for cement driven by urbanization and real estate development.

With extensive experience in the cement industry, CIMAF Group plans to leverage its technical and managerial expertise following the acquisition to modernize SONACIM's Baoré integrated facility (capacity 0.2 Mta). Concurrently, CIMAF's subsidiary, CIMAF Tchad, already operates a 0.5 Mta grinding plant near N'Djamena in Lamadji. This new acquisition will further expand its market footprint in Chad.

Analysis suggests that CIMAF's involvement will not only help increase Chad's cement self-sufficiency, reducing reliance on imports, but will also lower production costs through technology transfer and efficiency improvements. This will provide more competitive material support for Chad's infrastructure projects. The acquisition represents a significant step in Chad's economic diversification strategy, highlighting the crucial role of the private sector in driving industrial development.