BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

The Chairman of Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc , Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, said the total cement production from the company has increased to 4.5 million metric tonnes per annum.

Speaking during the commissioning ceremony of II popularly known as Lakatabu, in Ogun State, he said that Lakatabu has 2.5 million metric tonnes per annum production capacity while Ewekoro 1 has a tonnage of 2 million metric tonnes, this brings the total production capacity to 4.5 million tonnage per annum.

He noted that the new plant has created 1,000 employment opportunities. He stated that the company was committed to backward integration of Federal Government to achieve appreciable stability in the cement sub sector.

Chief Executive Officer Lafarge South Africa, Mr. Bruno Lafont, pointed out that Lafarge is committed to investment in Nigeria, adding that Lafarge Nigeria has the potential to become one of the largest Lafarge Company in the world.

He recalled that in 2002, Nigeria introduced the Backward Integration Policy for cement manufacturing with the aim of making Nigeria self-sufficient in cement production.

“The last time I held a meeting with cement manufacturers, I was promised that by the first quarter of next year, we will stop importation of cement to Nigeria. If we achieve that, that will be great but what we are seeing today gives us hope that we are commissioning a factory that is employing about 1000 people and the production is high and it is saving us $6 billion annually in revenue in foreign exchange so we must thank Lafarge for this,” the President said.

In his goodwill message, the Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, urged the business community to take advantage of the vast human and natural resources in the state.

“We want to use this opportunity to invite other private sector to Ogun State because Ogun State is the investment destination of choice not only in Nigeria but the entire sub-region in West Africa.

“Our doors are open to genuine investors for discussions just as we are ready to collaborate with the stakeholders to achieve the aim of making our state an industrial zone, which will in turn provide employment for our teeming youths,” he said.