BUA Cement has received $500 million in financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other lenders to boost production, the organisations said on Tuesday.

The IFC and BUA said in a joint statement that the funding would help the company part-finance and develop two new, energy-efficient cement production lines at its plant in Sokoto state, in northwest Nigeria.

The funding includes $160.5 million from IFC, $245 million in syndicated loans from African Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation and the German Investment Corporation, as well as $94.5 million from institutional investors.

"The plants will run partly on alternative fuels derived from waste and solar power. Each will produce about three million tons of cement annually when complete, serving markets in Nigeria, Niger, and Burkina Faso," IFC and BUA said.

BUA has a production capacity of 11 million tonnes and the new investment will add another 6 million tonnes.

The new financing package will also allow BUA to replace some of its diesel trucks with vehicles that run partly on natural gas in a push to cut emissions, the statement said.

Reuters