Displaying items by tag: BUA Group

Nigeria: The head of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has publicly rebutted accusations by Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chief executive officer (CEO) of BUA Group, that the ministry and Dangote Cement have ‘sabotaged’ operations at the company. Rabiu made the allegations in a letter sent to President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the This Day newspaper.

Rabiu says that the rival cement company and the ministry colluded in a legal dispute about operations at Okpella in Edo State and mineral resources. Allegedly, a militia attempted to damage the cement plant before security forces intervened. Later government officials and police tried to stop work at a BUA Cement mine despite on-going legal action.

Mohammed Abass, the head of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, responded by describing Rabiu’s accusations as, “…an unwarranted campaign of calumny against the ministry.” He added that the cement company was attempting to blackmail the ministry into granting a ‘free pass’ for illegal operations. The ministry says that it issued a Stop Work Order for the disputed mine in 2015 but that BUA Group ignored it and has continued to work at the site whilst the legal case was pending. Later, the staff of BUA Group resisted an attempt to shut the site down in mid-November 2017.

Nigeria: The Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo commissioned the 3Mt/yr second kiln line at the BUA Obu Cement plant at Okpella, Edo State on 30 August 2017. He had earlier performed the ground-breaking ceremony at the start of the construction phase of the line. Once the line is fully commissioned in early 2018, it will bring the plant’s capacity to 6Mt/yr.

"This project is a big boost to the Nigerian economy and it will provide employment opportunity for both the skilled and unskilled youths of this state and the country at large," said Osinbajo, adding that the plant's capacity would consolidate Nigeria's self-sufficiency in cement and be a big boost to the nation's export capacity

Nigeria: Alhaji Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu, the chairman of Bua Group, has promised that cement prices will soon fall. He made the comments after meeting with Yemi Osinbajo, the vice-president of the country, according to the This Day newspaper. He cited a fall in the price of low pour fuel oil (LPFO) and more favourable foreign exchange rates. He added that the three major cement producers were working ‘hard’ to reduce prices. However, he did not reveal a date for the reduction.

Nigeria: Bua Group plans to reach a cement production capacity of 10Mt/yr via upgrade projects at its Edo and Sokoto plants by the end of 2018, according to its chairman and chief executive officer Abdul Salman Rabiu. He made the comments to local press at the company's 2016 annual customer forum and awards ceremony in Abuja.

Nigeria: Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, the chairman of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), has warned that the price of cement may rise if the Naira continues to devalue. He made the comments at the company’s Annual General Meeting according to the Nation newspaper. Imported inputs such as fuel, machinery, spare parts and gypsum would all be affected by local currency depreciation. The cement producer was forced to shut down its Sokoto cement plant for intermittent periods in late 2015 due to poor supplies of low pour fuel oil (LFPO) from the Kaduna refinery.

The subsidiary of BUA Group reported that its turnover fell by 14% year-on-year to US$41.4m in 2015 from US$48m in 2014. Its profit after tax fell by 37% to US$3.81m from US$6.09m.

Nigeria: Nigerian conglomerate BUA Group has signed US$600m worth of contracts with China's Sinoma International Engineering Co. to double capacity at its flagship cement plant as it seeks to expand market share in Africa's biggest economy.

BUA plans to double the capacity of its Obu cement plant which currently has a capacity of 3.5Mt/yr, with completion expected in 2017. The contract was signed at Sinomas offices in China.

Executive chairman Abdulsamad Rabiu said, "BUA has less than 10% of the market share now but afterwards we should go to about 20%. Rabiu said that BUA, like Nigeria's largest cement producer Dangote Cement, was planning a continent-wide expansion.

Nigeria: The Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), part of BUA Group, has declared a post-tax profit of US$9.64m for the 2014 financial year, some 23.1% higher than in the 2013 financial year.

CCNN chairman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, said that despite lower cement sales recorded in the last quarter of 2014 mainly due to pockets of unrest in CCNN's business markets, the company's focus on efficiency and strategic investments resulted in steady growth during the period. From a high of US$13.9m in 2013, CCNN's production and operational expenses significantly declined to US$12.1m in 2014. CCNN also announced plans to expand its cement plant to 2Mt/yr of cement capacity with a US$241m investment.

Nigeria: BUA Group's US$600m, 3Mt/yr capacity Obu cement plant in Okpella, Edo is set to be start cement dispatches in the first week of August 2015. Clinker production has already commenced.

"The Obu Cement plant, which is about 5km away from Edo Cement Company, is 100% owned by BUA Group. The Edo Cement plant, which has a capacity of 500,000t/yr is also being upgraded and will receive clinker from the Obu Cement plant before being fully completed," said BUA Group chairman and CEO Abdulsamad Rabiu. "The two plants will produce about 3.5Mt/yr of cement. Asides from the initial cost of over US$500m in Obu Cement, we have also invested over US$100m in gas turbines to power a 50MW plant for 24-hour electricity generation, as well as the construction of a 30km gas supply pipeline." The Obu Cement plant was supplied by FLSmidth of Denmark, while the civil construction was handled by construction firm Julius Berger.

Rabiu said that the company's three-year journey to construct the plant would give a much-needed boost to Nigeria's cement industry, as well as enhance the development of related sectors including housing and construction. Rabiu said that the plant's location in Edo makes it a strategic point for markets in the north and south of the country. "Essentially we are 200m to the highway linking Okene, Kogi and Benin, Edo, which will guarantee adequate distribution of products," said Rabiu. Rabiu revealed that an estimated 250 – 300 trailers of cement would be delivered to markets across the regions each day once the Obu plant starts full commercial operations.

The Obu Cement plant currently uses 9000t/day of limestone and clay for its large-scale operations, which will provide over 1500 direct jobs. The plant will produce 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5 grade cement.

"As far back as April 2014, BUA Group signed a gas sales and purchase agreement with the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), which will guarantee the supply of about 0.9Mft3/day of gas to the Obu plant. However, liquid fuels will also be used as a backup, to ensure production around the clock," said Rabiu.

Nigeria: On 2 June 2015 the House of Representatives intervened in a dispute between Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim and Company (AICO) in Kogi State and Okpella in Edo State over the ownership of a limestone deposit. The motion on the issue, which came as a matter of Urgent National Importance, moved by Edo lawmaker Abubakar Momoh, was unanimously adopted by the House.

"This peaceful co-existence is being threatened by the purported sale of OBU Limestone in Okpella, owned by Okpella Cement, to Dangote Company by Alhaji Ado Ibrahim. This is with a view to frustrating BUA Cement Company, which acquired Okpella Cement as a private investor," said Momoh.

According to Momoh, BUA has also built a cement plant in Okpella, which is due for inauguration in June 2015. "The House recalls that when in 1994, this same ownership of OBU Limestone deposit arose, the Okpella community went to court on the issue. The suit was filed against AICO, which prompted AICO to file application in 1997 to the Okpella community for local consent. The consent was turned down on account of having already granted the same to Edo Cement, which owned the mining license of the deposit," said Momoh.

According to Momoh, if nothing was done immediately to settle the matter, it might lead to a clash between the parties. He urged the security agencies to make adequate security arrangements in the location. "The governments of Edo and Kogi should intervene and settle the matter amicably, before it degenerates into serious inter-communal clash between the two states. The National Boundary Commission is urged to intervene with a view to permanently establishing the boundary between Edo and Kogi."

The acting speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, who presided over the plenary session, advised the two communities to maintain peace and assured them that the house would do its best to resolve the issue.

Nigeria: Bua Group International has invested US$500m in a 3Mt/yr capacity greenfield cement plant in Okpella, Edo State. The Obu Cement Plant will take Bua's cement capacity to 5.3Mt/yr when it is commissioned in February 2015.

Bua Group already operates a 0.5Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Sokoto State via its subsidiary, Sokoto Cement. The plant currently operates at 100% capacity. Bua Group is also constructing a new 1.5Mt/yr capacity in the same state. In Edo State, Bua Group currently owns the 0.3Mt/yr capacity Edo Cement Plant.

The Obu plant is planned for conclusion and commissioning within the first quarter of 2015, and is predicted to hire over 1000 direct labour and thousands of indirect labour, according to Yusuf Binji, executive director, project and technical, Bua Group, Okpella, Edo State.