Nigeria to move into high gear in ethanol; five sugar plants under construction

In Nigeria, the Minister of Commerce and Industry said that Nigeria is building five new sugar plants and has the potential to become a leading ethanol producer. He noted new new sugar plants are being built in Jigawa, Bauchi, Taraba, Kogi and Lagos states.

Nigeria produces 50,000 tonnes of sugar out of a total consumption of 1.176 million tonnes. The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has requested a Presidential Initiative to construct six regional facilities producing 100,000 tons of sugar, 5 Mgy of sugar ethanol, and 25 MW of power for the factory and the national grid.

Last month, it was reported that Niger State Government had inked a $314 million pact with OSPREY Investment for an ethanol plant. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2009. Niger State would hold a 25 percent stake in the venture. In September, Alconi Nigeria announced a new ethanol plant for Calabar in Cross River State. The company recently opened its first facility, in Lagos State, which is producing 14 Mgy, and with the new facility the company expects to increase total production to 47 Mgy.

Alconi, a Spanish-Nigerian venture, is producing ethanol for domestic Nigerian consumption, and export to Ghana and Angola.

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