A US$1.2bn fertiliser plant is to be set up in Nigeria by a subsidiary of Indorama Corporation, and will become the worlds largest urea manufacturing complex
Financing agreements worth $800mn have been signed by Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited Nigeria (IEFCL) and 16 commercial banks and financial institutions.
The funding of the plant, which will be constructed in Port Harcourt, is being led by the International financial Corporation (IFC).
The IFC is part of the World Bank group, which has raised parallel loans from investment companies in Britain, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, and a $75mn syndicated loan from the Bank of India.
“The state-of-the-art manufacturing complex will produce 1.4mn tonnes of granulated urea per annum, using natural gas as feedstock, from early 2016,” Indorama Group managing director, Amit Lohia, was quoted as saying by Nigeria's THISDAY.
“This project envisages setting up the single largest urea manufacturing train in the world, making this one of the lowest cost producers in the world, which will also enable it to export urea to North American and Latin American markets."
Indorama Corporation, which is headquartered in Singapore, is the world’s largest producer of polyester and PET resin, and has 45 manufacturing sites across 20 countries around the world. IEFCL is providing equity of $400mn for the project.
“The IEFCL project will play a large role in addressing critical Nigerian and West African requirements for economically priced fertiliser," Lohia said.
"IEFCL will substitute fertiliser imports to address Nigeria and West Africa’s growing demand for fertiliser by utilising Nigeria’s vast hydrocarbon reserves.
“We continue to see significant growth prospects in Africa and the Middle East.
"After investing more than $500mn over the past several years in Nigeria, Indorama is setting the foundation to create Africa’s largest petrochemical hub in the country.
"IEFCL, through this project, will play a key role in boosting Nigeria’s crop yields.
"In addition, Indorama has a rich pipeline of petrochemical projects globally to further build on its global petrochemical presence."
