Nigeria: IFC provides funding to BUA Cement
IFC made its largest-ever investment in northern Nigeria, providing a financing package alongside African and European partners to BUA Cement Plc to help the company part-finance and develop two new, energy-efficient cement production lines.
IFC’s $500 million financing package includes a $160.5 million loan from IFC’s own account, a $94.5 million loan through the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP), and $245 million in parallel loans from syndication partners: the African Development Bank (AfDB) – $100 million; the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) – $100 million; and DEG – $45 million.
The financing will allow BUA, Nigeria’s second largest cement producer, to develop new production lines in northern Nigeria’s Sokoto State. The plants will run partly on alternative fuels derived from waste and solar power. Each will produce about three million tonnes of cement annually when complete, serving markets in Nigeria, Niger, and Burkina Faso.