By Dipo Olowookere
The management of BUA Cement Plc has commenced the process of sourcing loans for the expansion of its plant in Kalambaina, Sokoto State.
The board of the cement giant confirmed this in a statement filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday.
The Sokoto factory of BUA Cement currently has the capacity to produce 2 million tonnes of cement per annum but if it is able to secure the loans if requires, it would be able to produce 8 million tonnes per annum.
In the notice issued yesterday, the organisation said it was in talks with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to convince commercial banks and others to provide the funding package to make the project a reality.
“In furtherance of our disclosure obligations pursuant to Chapter 17 of the Rulebook, BUA Cement Plc hereby notifies Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), its esteemed shareholders and the investing public that the company has gone into a discussion with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), serving as lead arranger in conjunction with a number of other lenders in a syndication pool, to obtain a loan for the expansion of BUA Cement’s integrated cement plant in Kalambaina, Sokoto State, Nigeria which shall include increasing its capacity from 2.0 million tons per annum (MTPA) to 8.0 MTPA and the development of other ancillary utilities,” a part of the statement said.
BUA Cement is one of the major cement makers in Nigeria. Its main market is in a part of Northern Nigeria, though it is working hard to dominate the market in the Southern part of the country.
