Cross River State Government has signed an agreement with a German firm, Cross Cement International and Infrastructure Limited, for the construction of a 5.7 million tons per annum cement plant in the state.
The agreement was signed by the Secretary to Cross River State Government (SSG), Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, on behalf of the state government, while the chairman of Cross Cement International and Infrastructure Limited, Mr. Dotimi Anthony, and the Vice Chairman, Mr. Martins Schaefer, signed on behalf of the company.
When completed, it will become the second cement manufacturing plant in the state, which is well endowed with rich limestone deposits.
Speaking at the signing ceremony held at the temporary office of the Secretary to the State Government on Wednesday in Calabar, Governor Otu, represented by Prof. Enoh, said it was an offshoot of the state’s Investment Summit held in Calabar some months back.
The governor, who pointed out that the state has the map of mineral deposits, said Cross River has about a 25 km area of limestone deposits open to potential local and foreign investors who wish to invest in that sector.
He said the state has put in place adequate incentives and a conducive business atmosphere for businesses to thrive.
While expressing the state government’s support for the project, he called for a program of action to serve as a roadmap to enable the government to monitor and evaluate the progress at all times.
Anthony said that the new integrated cement plant, which is going to be the biggest in the West African region, will have a capacity of 12,000 tons a day and 5.7 million tons per annum.
He said the business, which is scheduled to start mobilization in March 2025, will, upon completion, strengthen the local production capacity of cement in the country and bring its local capacity to 41.25 million tons per annum and total African capacity to 57.6 million tons per annum.
Solomon Azu, The Guardian
