Nwifuru plans N500BN new cement factory in Nkalagu

The Ebonyi State Government has concluded plans to establish a new cement factory in Nkalagu, Governor Francis Nwifuru said on Sunday.

Nwifuru, who took Chinese contractors on an inspection tour of the site of the defunct NIGERCEM in Nkalagu, said the decision to set up a new plant was due to bottlenecks hindering the reactivation of the old factory.

He disclosed that preliminary findings showed that the large deposits of limestone in the state would sustain the company for over 30 years when established.

This was contained in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr Monday Uzor, on Monday.

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“We have 50 million tons of limestone in Nkalagu and 23 million tons at Effium and if put together will sustain the factory for a minimum of 30 years,” the governor said.

According to him, the new factory will be fully functional, create jobs, and reduce the cost of building materials in Ebonyi State, the South-East, and the nation in general.

“As a responsive government, alive to its social contract, the establishment of the new factory was neither politically motivated nor driven by opaque interests, but because it forms the industrialisation component of the People’s Charter of Needs Agenda,” he said.

“This is part of the project we believe we must execute. We came with manufacturers, designers, builders and contractors. They will see the limestone,” Nwifuru added.

The governor insisted that no government official would hold shares in the company upon completion.

“No one will buy shares here, including my humble self,” he stated.

He said the expatriates had assured him of the timely completion of the project to drive the industrialisation vision of his administration.

“We have been assured by them of the timely completion of this project,” he said.

Nwifuru commended his Anambra State counterpart, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, for his continued interest in the reactivation of the old NIGERCEM.

It would be recalled that the Ebonyi State Government appropriated N150 billion in the 2026 budget for the establishment of the new cement factory.