Leading Nigerian blue chip conglomerate, BUA, has announced the signing of an agreement with Wartsila OY of Finland for the construction of a 70megawatts (MW) dual-fuel power plant for the BUA Cement Sokoto Line 4 in Sokoto State.
The move is to boost its cement expansion in the country.
The announcement comes as BUA recently revealed that it was looking to boost its production capacity in Nigeria over the next three years with new plants in the works.
According to the giant firm, this will be the second plant to be constructed by Wartsila for BUA Cement – the first being the BUA Cement Sokoto power plant scheduled to be commissioned alongside the plant in November 2021.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chairman of BUA Cement Plc, who signed on behalf of the cement producer, Abdul Samad Rabiu, said BUA Cement will continue to invest strategically in the West African Cement industry to enable it to bridge the huge infrastructure and housing deficit.
Rabiu said: “BUA Cement is happy and pleased with the progress that Wartsila made with the construction of the power plant we initially purchased for our BUA Cement Sokoto Line 3, which we expect will begin commissioning by November alongside the power plant. We believe Wartsila will bring the same level of efficiency, technical expertise and professionalism to bear in ensuring that this new power plant for the 3million Mtpa BUA Cement Sokoto Line 4 will be completed on schedule by the end of next year, as we look towards bringing BUA’s total capacity in its Sokoto plant to 8 million metric tonnes by early 2023 and 17 million metric tonnes across all its plants by the same time.”
On his part, Energy Business Director at Wartsila West Africa, Mark Thiriet, said: “Wartsila is proud to partner with BUA Group on this BUA Cement Sokoto Line 4 project.”
He said that Wartsila will bring its technical expertise and globally recognized technology to bear in bringing the project to completion.
BUA Cement Plc is Nigeria’s second largest cement company and the largest producer in its North-West, South-South, and South-East regions. BUA Cement operates strategically from Okpella, Edo State and Kalambaina, Sokoto State with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. Currently the second most capitalized manufacturing company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), BUA Cement is committed to quality – a differentiating attribute, driven by its people, innovation, and technology; and positioned to solving West Africa’s cement under-capacity while driving economic growth and development.
