BUA International Limited, a multinational company, is set to commission a $250 million sugar plant in the country. The project, to be completed by the end of April, is expected to produce 2,000 metric tons of sugar per day, translating to 60,000 metric tonnes per month or 720,000 metric tonnes annually.

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, said the project which is 100 per cent equity financed by the parent company , BUA International Limited, is 80 per cent completed.
He said the plant is ultra modern and automated with state-of-the-art equipment, from United States of America and Brazil.

Rabiu said, "The demand of sugar in Nigeria at present is between 2.5 to three million tons per annual. Dangote is supplying 1.5 million tons. So as at now there is a short of 1 million and we hope to supply at least 750,000 out of this short. So, 750,000 metric tonnes per annual is our target for now but we hope to improve on this later".

He explained the major challenges facing the industry were the epileptic power supply. He said Government had not done much in solving the problem. Also speaking to newsmen, the Managing Director of the company, Chimaobi Madukwe said 99 per cent of the workforce were Nigerians. He said the project was being designed by Nigerians. "This shows that Nigerians are capable of doing things if given the chance," he said.

While conducting newsmen round the plant, the Project Manager, Salihu Auwal, said the building was made of steel structures, which consists basically of six floors with other adjourning steps leading to the different sections of the plant. "The plant layout is designed in such a way that raw materials can move directly from the dome (storage vessel) to the plant for process operations in the different floors and then to the bagging and stitching sections from where it finally moves to the warehouse adjacent to the factory. The laboratory will be fully air conditioned and highly equipped with the latest facilities for on-line testing as well as random testing as the product leaves the factory, to ensure optimal compliance with the set standards and regulatory demands," he said.

Auwal said the plant was designed in such a way that the power required for operating the plant will be generated from operations. He added that the refinery has been structure to generate its own power during the process of converting molasses to sugar while provision had been made to receive gas supply to fire the turbines. Apart from this, two standby generators have been provided to take care of unforeseen circumstances.

Over the years, imported sugar had been the major source of sugar in Nigeria accounting for about 95 per cent of total consumption. In 2001, the total quantity of sugar imported into the country was 1 million tons at a total cost of N45 billion. This has gone up considerably in the last few years with sugar imports exceeding $1 billion per annum while demand remains unsaturated.

The investor, BUA Group, has built a distinguished and formidable clout in industrial and commercial activities in Nigeria. These include two flour mills in Lagos and Kano, each with capacity of 500 metric tonnes per day. Both plants are valued at over $50 million.