Cementing a solid future in Nigeria and beyond

CBMI is expanding its business in Africa through its joint venture, which gives it an advantage over its competitors. CHINA DAILY

The rapid increase in infrastructure projects across Nigeria has put the country's heavy equipment and cement supplies under strain.

But a Chinese company has agreed a series of new collaborations with international and local partners, which it says should help ease the pressure.

Ren Zhigang, the branch manager of CBMI Construction Co Ltd in Abuja, says it now has three projects under construction, in the states of Ogun, Sokoto and Ido.

Total cement production from the three units is expected to be in excess of 11,250 tons a day.

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"Due to this large demand, our business is expected to grow at a faster pace in the very near future," Ren says.

"The contractor on the Sokoto project is BUA Group, one of Nigeria's largest commercial groups, and the expected capacity is 5,000 tons a day," he says.

"In Ogun, in a deal worth $270 million including both equipment supply and on-site construction and installment, the production line should produce 6,250 tons of cement a day when complete, which would even exceed the average production capacity of 5,000 tons a day at plants in China," he says.

The Ogun deal is a refurbishment project financed by a local bank and the French industrial giant Lafarge.

The old factory's maximum output was just 2,000 tons a day, hampered mainly by inefficient equipment and management skills, Ren says, who also revealed the facility has the capacity to increase production to 10,000 tons a day.

CBMI is a subsidiary of Sinoma International Engineering Co Ltd, a listed company within the China National Materials Group Corp.

CBMI is an affiliate of Tianjin Cement Industry Design & Research Institute Co Ltd, considered one of China's top three cement research institutes.

CBMI's product quality, environmental management and occupational health and safety have all been certified with leading industry standards.

Over the past half century CBMI has been responsible for installing more than 150 cement production lines in Europe, Asia and Africa, as both a sole contractor and as a joint-venture partner.