Leading cement manufacturing company, Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc, has announced that it has produced the first clinker from its new 2.5 million metric tonnes, Ewekoro II plant (code named Lakatabu) valued at N75 billion (350m Euros).
This achievement came exactly one month after the company commissioned its N23 billion 90MW power plant in Ewekoro. It also coincided with the inaugural visit of the Minister for Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, to the company.
When fully operational, the company stated, the greenfield cement plant will double the overall volume of Lafarge cement products (including Elephant Cement and Elephant Supaset) supplied into the Nigerian market – from 2.0 million to 4.5 million metric tonnes.
While commending the company on the efforts and investments that have gone into the construction of the new plant, and the key milestone of first clinker, the Minister said the government is interested in partnering with the company and leveraging Lafarge’s global spread and experience to attract more investments into Nigeria.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Samy Abdelkader, while welcoming the minister to the company’s plants in Ewekoro, announced a crucial milestone with the production of the first clinker.
“The first clinker, (semi-finished cement), is a crucial milestone towards project completion”, he said.
He added, “The implication of this historic milestone in our 50 years of quality cement production is that with enough clinker being produced locally, more cement will be readily available for Nigerians. This is clear testimony that our company has fully keyed into the Federal Government's Backward Integration Policy, which aims at self-sufficiency in cement production. It also proves that when we promise, we deliver”.
Upon the commissioning of Ewekoro II in the next few weeks, Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc will be adding about 12,000 tonnes of cement to the Nigeria cement market every day.
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