AshakaCem to debottleneck plant to gain additional 0.5MMT

Ashaka Cement plc is planning to debottleneck its existing line to obtain additional 0.5 million metric tons (MMT) of cement.

Debottlenecking involves increasing production capacity of existing facilities through the modification of existing equipment to remove throughput restrictions, according to English Encyclopedia.

Suleiman Yahyah, chairman, AshakaCem, who disclosed this during the 40th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Abuja, also said the firm was installing a new line with 2.5MMT capacity of cement per annum.

Yahyah’s disclosure came as the board of AshakaCem recommended a gross dividend of 45 kobo on every ordinary share in issue to shareholders, which represents 7.1 percent rise over dividend of the previous financial year.

The proposed dividend was in consideration of the firm’s plan to invest in a significant expansion of its cement production capacity to about 4MMT from the current 1MMT, partly with internally generated funds. AshakaCem’s expansion groundbreaking ceremony was laid last year.

“To benefit from the potential growth in demand for cement and following the establishment of adequate limestone and other relevant mineral reserves, we have embarked on the expansion of our cement production capacity to 4MMT,” said Yahyah.

“As part of the expansion project, a captive coal-fired power plant of 64 megawatts capacity will be built in order to allow a reliable and sufficient source of power for the existing plant and the new cement line,” he said further, assuring the shareholders that when completed, the capacity expansion would positively impact the socio-economic life of the host community and add value to all stakeholders.

Commenting on AshakaCem’s financial performance for the year 2014, Leonard Palka, managing director/CEO, attributed the 84.5 percent increase in profit before taxation from last year to cost efficiency and increased use of local coal in place of the expensive low-pour fuel oil (LPFO) in the year under review, and assured that the management would continue to leverage on the improvement and cost efficiency initiatives that made the organisation proud in the year under review.

The shareholders ratified the appointment of the new board chairman as well as Anders Kristiansson, Rabiu Abbdullahi Umar and Edith Onwuchekwa, as non-executive directors.

AshakaCem plc has been participating in the economic growth and development of Nigeria, particularly in the North-East where it is located for over three decades. Following the successful completion of the Mandatory Transfer Offer earlier in the year, it has become a full part of the consolidated Lafarge Africa plc.

AshakaCem is the fourth largest cement manufacturer in Nigeria. AshakaCem has a cement plant in Ashaka Works, Gombe State, in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria, and has depots in 11 locations across Nigeria and three liaison offices in Abuja, Kano and Lagos.

ODINAKA ANUDU