Yemisi Izuora
The BUA Group has ordered a 48 megawatt, MW, power plant from Finland’s Wärtsilä for a new production line at its Sokoto cement plant.
The power plant will operate without connection to the country’s electricity grid and it will operate on five Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines, running primarily on liquified natural gas (LNG) but with the capability to switch to low pour fuel oil (LPFO) if necessary.
The site’s two existing power plants operate on heavy fuel oil (HFO).
The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2019, and the new plant is expected to become operational in mid-2020. No price for the order has been disclosed.
It will be recalled that the BUA Group Early this year announced that it has signed another contract with cement manufacturing company, CBMI, for the construction of a new three million metric tonnes per annum Kalambaina Cement Line 2 in Sokoto State, North West Nigeria.
This comes barely 90 days after the completion of another 3million MTPA BUA Obu Cement Line 2 in Okpella, Edo State, Southern Nigeria, and seven months after the inauguration of its 1.5million MTPA Kalambaina Cement Plant Line 1 in Sokoto State, thus bringing BUA Cement’s total installed capacity to 11million MTPA by the time the new project is completed.
Similarly, the move came less than one week after the listing of shares from the almost $1 billion merger between BUA Kalambaina Cement Company, and Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), where it also assumed majority stakes in the enlarged company.
Speaking at the contract signing ceremony for the plant in Sokoto State, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Executive Chairman/CEO, BUA Group and Chairman of CCNN in a statement, disclosed that the construction of the new 3million mtpa kalambaina line was in line with BUA Cement’s strategic midterm expansion programme.
According to Abdul Samad, the Nigerian market is still greatly underserved, and with the projected growth in major infrastructure projects and spending over the next few years, it is important that local manufacturers are able to scale effectively to meet current and projected demand.
Rabiu also added that this partnership between BUA and Sinoma CBMI is not the first, as they were responsible for constructing the first BUA Kalambaina plant in Sokoto State.
“We are very confident that Sinoma CBMI possesses the necessary technical expertise given their track record in deploying cement plants across the world,” Tong Laigou, Chairman of CBMI, signed on behalf of CBMI construction.
On becoming Nigeria’s second largest cement producer by volume, Rabiu said the BUA’s strategic cement expansion programme, which focused on key regional and export markets has seen it become the second largest producer of cement by volume in Nigeria this year, whilst solidifying its leadership positions in the North West, South South and South East markets of Nigeria.
“We will continue to deliver quality products, which have earned us the ‘King of Strength and King of Cement’ moniker amongst block makers who form the largest users of cement in Nigeria,” he added.
Recall that the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), had recently approved the merger of the CCNN Plc with BUA’s Kalambaina Cement Company Limited of Nigeria that saw the enlarged CCNN become Nigeria’s 12th largest company by market capitalisation.
BUA Group’s current cement assets include the 6million MTPA Obu Cement I & II plants in Okpella, Edo State, the 500,000mtpa Edo Cement Plant, the 1.5million MTPA Kalambaina Cement Plant, and the 500,000 Sokoto Cement Plant.
The Group also owns over 90 per cent stake in the publicly-listed CCNN Plc, and is widely acclaimed for its high capacity utilisation, efficiency, and quality of its products.