FG Commends Africa’s Industrial Generation Efforts
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, has called on Lafarge Africa, a leading construction solutions provider in Nigeria to support the government’s drive towards ensuring adequate power generation and distribution, particularly in industrial hubs.
Fayemi made the request during a recent working visit to Lafarge Africa’s Ewekoro cement plant while responding to the company’s efforts at generating sufficient power for its operations across the country through the use of biomass.
He commended the company for recycling palm kernel shells, which are waste material, as biomass to generate power for the kilns used in making cement.
According to the Minister, the use of biomass is “saving money that would have been used to buy fuel and foreign exchange.” Power generated from the biomass plant generates half of the energy used in firing the kilns. “But they will get to 100%” the Minister said, adding that an “environment-friendly production site is something to take away from Lafarge Africa here in Ogun state and I hope there are lessons to take on board. That is not to say that coal should not be used because we have coal in Nigeria that will also save us foreign exchange.”
He stated further said that power generation for existing and new factories was critical. “Power is an essential need for us in Nigeria, we are desperately in need of adding more generation of power in order to fuel all these plants that are developing, and Ogun state is a major destination for industries, they are so many industries that are setting up here, Ogun state ranks first in terms of siting of new plants.
“Every day, you have a new company here and you want to ensure that there is enough power for those companies that are setting up here, whether it’s biomass, coal or natural gas on renewable energy, you what to ensure that you have enough power to use. So, for us, we are impressed with what we have seen and we want to support Lafarge Africa to expand its operations,” the Minister said.
Responding, Michel Puchercos, Country CEO, Lafarge Africa Plc, noted that the effects of the slowdown in the economy prompted the company to seek an alternative means to generate energy for its Ewekoro and other plants. He said, “We realised last year that dollars was scarce and energy was scarce in Nigeria.