Abdul Samad Rabiu: “BUA Cement contributes $250m equity to new production units in Sokoto State”

On 5 June, during the Africa CEO Forum organised by the Jeune Afrique media group, which ended this evening at the Sofitel in Abidjan, the head of the Nigerian conglomerate BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, signed an agreement with several development finance institutions. They have granted him a facility totalling $500 million to develop two new cement production lines in Sokoto, where the group already operates a plant. The electricity that will power the new plants will be partly renewable and derived from alternative fuels. The package is made up of several loans: $160.5 million from the International Finance Corporation, $94.5 million through its Joint Loan Portfolio Programme, $100 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB), $100 million from the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and $45 million from the German development finance institution (DEG). We spoke to the Nigerian billionaire on the sidelines of the signing ceremony.