Wärtsilä has been awarded a contract from United Cement Company of Nigeria Ltd. (UNICEM) to supply three Wärtsilä 18V50DF generating sets and related equipment for a 47 MWe power plant at a new cement works located at Calabar in Cross River State, Nigeria. The power plant is estimated to come on line in the beginning of 2008.
The engines will initially burn heavy fuel oil but, as dual-fuel engines, they will be changed to run on natural gas as the main fuel when it becomes available at the cement works. The dual-fuel capability of the engines will allow UNICEM to manage its fuel costs by using the lowest cost fuel available.
The power plant will be the sole source of electrical power for the cement plant which is isolated from the national grid.
Phase 1 of the new cement plant is being built on a greenfield site and will have a planned annual production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes. The cement plant is located near the port of Calabar in south-eastern Nigeria. It will be able to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement.
UNICEM is partly owned by Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) Cement Group. OCI is a leading cement producer and construction contractor active in emerging markets. UNICEM has cement plants in Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, northern Iraq, Pakistan and Spain with a combined annual production capacity of 21 million tons, and new investments in Northern Iraq, Turkey, Nigeria, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates will increase annual production capacity to 34 million tons.
Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 13,000 professionals manning 130 Wärtsilä locations in close to 70 countries around the world.
For further information, please contact:
Maria Nystrand
Public Relations Manager, Power Plants
Wärtsilä Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1456
Direct fax: +358 10 709 1425
e-mail: maria.nystrand@wartsila.com
Internet: www.wartsila.com
