AshakaCem Signs N11bn Contract for 16 Megawatts Power Plant

Dele Ogbodo in Abuja

The Chairman, Ashaka Cement, Mr. Suleiman Yahyah, has signed an N11 billion contract on behalf of Lafarge Africa with RunhPower Corp of China for the erection of 16 megawatts lignite power-fired plant in Akko, Gombe state.

Signing on behalf of LafargeHolcim group in Abuja, Yahyah said when completed in 2018, the project will transform the company’s production capacity to 1 million metric tonnes annually.

He said when he took over as chairman of the company in 2015, he made a commitment that he will tackle the biting cost of power problem headlong, adding that he was delighted that the board supported the move to inject the N11 billion in its new power plant.

He said the project is the first of its in the entire North-east, adding that the company is biting the bullet and taking the heat on its cash reserves to fund the project.

The chairman: “Upon completion, it would bolo get rely on Yola DISCO for its requirement and also will no longer depend on LPFO diesel from the epileptic and unstable power regime.

“The sustained effort to bring down cost of production will make Ashaka an efficient cement producer in the market.”

According to him, he said the North-east in some analysts view is facing an existential threat, adding that the company is only industrial business in the region of over 23 million people that has suffered insurgency with large number of displaced and unemployed people.

He pleaded with President Muhamanadu Buhari, to declare the North-east zone a tax free zone for the next five years because of its numerous challenges.

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