Cameroon’s Cement Capacity Keeps Rising, but Prices Remain High

Cameroon’s cement industry continues to add production capacity, with Cimaco now seeking a stronger commercial position after investing CFA39 billion in its Edéa plant. But the growing number of factories has yet to produce a comparable decline in retail cement prices.

Cimaco billboards have become increasingly visible across Cameroon in recent weeks, giving the brand produced by Sinafcam Sarl at Koukoué, in the Edéa I subdivision, a stronger presence in the market.

The advertising campaign does not mark Cimaco’s market entry. According to the Economy Ministry’s Report on Cameroon’s Economy in 2025, published in August 2026, the plant has been operational since June 2025.

The facility has annual production capacity of 1 million tons. Construction cost CFA39 billion and took just over a year. It produces three grades of Cimaco cement: 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5, according to the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT).

Cimaco is seeking customers in a market that has changed considerably since the end of Cimencam’s monopoly. Dangote Cement entered in 2015, followed by Cimaf, Medcem, Mira Company and Cimpor, while additional Chinese cement plants have opened or remain under construction.

Industry sources estimated Cameroon’s national cement capacity at nearly 12 million tons a year in February 2026, compared with demand long estimated at around 8 million tons. The latter figure remains an estimate and should not be treated as measured cement consumption for 2026. Among the established producers, Cimencam retains the largest individual capacity at about 2.3 million tons a year. Dangote Cement has capacity of 1.5 million tons, as do Cimaf and Mira Company. Cimaf currently reports capacity of 1.5 million tons at its Douala grinding plant.

Edéa draws three Chinese cement investments

Cimaco’s development also strengthens Edéa and its surrounding area as a growing center for Cameroon’s cement industry. Sinafcam is no longer the only Chinese operator with a plant in the area. Central Africa Cement (CAC) inaugurated a plant there in September 2025 with installed capacity of 1.5 million tons a year. MINEPAT’s 2025 economic report puts the investment at CFA12 billion. The plant uses local pozzolan and limestone alongside imported clinker.

Yousheng Cement is developing a third plant on the banks of the Dibamba River. According to MINEPAT, construction began in 2024 and is due for completion in 2026. The project represents an investment of CFA30 billion, with the report putting its targeted annual capacity at 1.8 million tons. Based on the capacities cited in the report, Sinafcam, CAC and Yousheng could eventually account for 4.3 million tons a year: 1 million tons from Cimaco, 1.5 million from CAC and 1.8 million from Yousheng.

That figure does not represent capacity already available to the market. Sinafcam is operational and CAC has been inaugurated, giving the two companies combined installed capacity of 2.5 million tons. Yousheng’s additional 1.8 million tons remains a target for a plant still under construction.

The distinction is important because publicly reported figures for Yousheng have varied. The 1.8-million-ton figure comes from MINEPAT’s 2026 economic report and should therefore be attributed to that document.

More factories have yet to bring cement prices down

Cameroon’s increase in industrial capacity has not produced a comparable decline in retail cement prices. An observation published on February 28, 2026 still put the price of a 50-kg bag at CFA5,100 to CFA5,300 in Douala and Yaoundé. Dependence on imported clinker is among the costs cited to explain why prices have remained resistant to the additional supply. New plants are not necessarily free from that dependence. MINEPAT, for example, says Central Africa Cement supplements its local raw materials with imported clinker.

For Cimaco, the issue is therefore no longer whether it can enter Cameroon’s cement market—the company began production in 2025—but whether it can convert its 1-million-ton capacity into sales in an increasingly crowded industry.

No recent public data reviewed provides Sinafcam’s actual sales volumes, the utilization rate of its plant or Cimaco’s market share against Cimencam, Dangote, Cimaf, Mira and other producers.

Amina Malloum