Project:
Obajana Cement
Country:
Nigeria
Sector:
Industrial Infrastructure
Description:
The project consists of the construction of two cement production lines with a capacity of 4.4 million tons per annum. The plant will provide new supplies of cement, which are currently almost entirely provided by foreign imports. EAIF has committed US$ 30 million of debt of which US$ 29.78 million has been disbursed as part of an overall financing package of US$ 479 million. The total cost of the project is US$ 800 million. The project will generate significant training and employment opportunities and government tax revenues (in excess of US$ 50 million per annum), and will use energy from a natural gas source which was previously being flared. The project is expected to employ 250 local people during construction and 450 local people during operation.
Project:
Eleme Petrochemicals
Country:
Nigeria
Sector:
Industrial Infrastructure
Description:
This project forms part of Nigeria’s privatisation programme support. EAIF has committed a US$ 20 million loan to support the privatisation of this petrochemical plant as part of a total financing package of US$ 160 million. The project signed in February 2007 with the first disbursement of US$ 9 million made in March 2007 with the second disbursement of US$ 3 million made in October 2007. The project will contribute significantly to the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s infrastructure, including through import substitution, privatisation demonstration effects and a community programme bringing power to an area of 50,000 people.
Project:
Safal Investments
Country:
South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, Angola, Zambia, DRC, Rwanda, and Mozambique
Sector:
Industrial Infrastructure
Description:
The Safal Group is the largest manufacturer of metal roofing in sub-Saharan Africa. It currently manufactures in Kenya (Mabati Rolling Mills) and in Tanzania (Aluminium Africa). It is now expanding these plants and building a new greenfield rolling mill and galvanising plant near Durban in South Africa. The project will increase capacity by 150,000 metric tonnes.
EAIF is providing USD 15 million of senior and USD 14 million of subordinated debt to the parent company to facilitate the construction of the Durban plant and a broadening of Safal’s distribution and processing network in a number of East and Southern African countries.
The project supports EAIF’s mandate to fund manufacturing of components of infrastructure.
The roofing produced by Safal uses a state-of-the-art process that coats the steel material with both aluminium and zinc. This process produces a cheaper product because the steel is rolled to the thinnest gauges available in Africa whilst the coating is cheaper than using zinc alone to galvanise. The product also has a significantly longer life than zinc galvanised material. No other company on the continent uses this process.
Metal roofing is the product of choice for most African consumers. The provision of cheaper and longer lasting roofing has real pro-poor benefits as the biggest single customer group is small users, particularly in the agricultural sector.
