(Business in Cameroon) – Cameroon has inaugurated a new cement plant with an annual capacity of one million tons in Edéa, in the Littoral region. The facility, built by Chinese investors under Central Africa Cement (CAC), was officially opened on September 19, 2025, by Acting Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Fuh Calistus Gentry.
The plant is the second in Edéa after Sinafcam Sarl, which began selling cement on the local market in June 2025. A third Chinese producer, Yousheng Cement, is expected to start operations soon with a capacity of 1.8 million tons. Together, the three Chinese factories will add to the nine producers now active in Cameroon, a market that ended the monopoly of Cimenteries du Cameroun (Cimencam), a Lafarge Holcim Maroc Afrique subsidiary, in 2015.
Cimencam had dominated the sector for 48 years before losing ground to Dangote Cement Cameroon. Other competitors have since entered, including Morocco’s Cimaf, Turkey’s Medcem (Eren Holding), Mira Company, and Portugal’s Cimpor.
Despite this wave of new investments, with combined national capacity now exceeding 10 million tons against a demand of about 8 million tons in recent years, cement prices remain high. A 50 kg bag sells between CFA5,100 and CFA5,300 in major cities such as Douala and Yaoundé.
Producers and government officials attribute the high prices to the costly import of clinker, a key input in cement production. However, Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana has repeatedly suspected producers of engaging in “illegal collusion” to keep prices up.
