Société de ciment du Cameroun (Socimcam), a subsidiary of Atlantic Group controlled by Ivorian businessman Kone Dossongui, signed an amendment to its agreement with the Investment Promotion Agency (API) on February 19, 2026, in Yaoundé. The agreement concerns the project to build a cement plant in Kribi, in the South region of Cameroon.
The amendment modifies the initial agreement signed on August 4, 2021, due to technological improvements made to the plant's production process. These improvements involve an upward revision of the project cost, exceeding the initial estimate of 39 billion FCFA announced in 2021.
According to the terms of the amended agreement, Socimcam will benefit from tax and customs exemptions during the construction and operation phases, for a period ranging from 5 to 10 years. These incentives are granted in accordance with the April 2013 law on private investment incentives in Cameroon, revised in 2017 and 2025.
The site development works on the 10-hectare site, made available by the Autonomous Port of Kribi (PAK), began on August 3, 2021. The start of construction of the plant is scheduled for 2026, with an estimated duration of 24 months. Once completed, the cement plant will have an annual production capacity of one million tons and is expected to create approximately 1,600 direct and indirect jobs.
This project will strengthen Atlantic Group's presence in Cameroon, where the group is already active in the financial sector with AFG Bank and AFG Assurances, and in industry with Atlantic Cocoa. The start of production at this plant would bring the number of cement producers active in Cameroon to ten, marking a significant development since the end of Cimencam's monopoly.
Despite a national production capacity approaching 12 million tons, the price of a 50 kg bag of cement remains high, fluctuating between 5,100 FCFA and 5,300 FCFA in Douala and Yaoundé. Producers and the government justify these prices by the import costs of clinker, an essential component of cement. The Minister of Commerce has also mentioned suspicions of illegal price fixing. The commissioning of this plant could potentially impact the price dynamics in the local market.
Kone Dossongui, a leading figure in the Atlantic Group, has recently diversified his investments, notably with the acquisition of the Tongon gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire.
