New Nigerian cement plant planned

According to the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), kiln capacity would be 5000 tpy of clinker, providing nominal production capacity of 1.68 million tpy of CEM I cement and 2.13 million tpy of CEM II cement. Raw materials would be sources from the adjacent limestone quarry, which has an expected 40-year’s worth of reserves.

Construction of the plant is expected to take about 25 months with site preparation to begin in 2017 and production to follow in 2019. It would be just 10 km from a Dangote cement plant and 14 km from a Lafarge Wapco cement plant, according to the ESIA.

Nigeria is a growing market for cement with local cement major, Dangote, recently reporting overall demand for cement in the country grew by 5.7% in 2016. Dangote currently controls around 65% of the market, after boosting its share of sales last year – with sufficient capacity spare to begin exports to neighbouring Ghana.

Growth in demand for cement was named as the rationale for building the new plant in the ESIA, with the plant aiming to supply “local areas, as well as markets in the north of the country”.

During operations, the plant and quarry would be operated on an 8-hour, 7 days a week basis, according to the ESIA, providing employment for both skilled and unskilled workers, who are to be housed in accommodation near to the plant.

The plant will be powered by a small captive power plant, fuelled by gas or diesel, a potentially expensive and risky option, although traditional in the Nigerian cement sector. Dangote, recently reported that it has recently completed a conversion from gas and fuel oil to locally-sourced coal, following disruptions to gas supplies and the higher costs associated with using fuel oil.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/africa-middle-east/10032017/new-nigerian-cement-plant-planned/