EAIF backs billion-dollar Nigeria fertiliser plant

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) on Wednesday announced the financial close of its 11-year $35-million loan to Indorama Eleme Fertiliser & Chemicals (IEFCL).

The transaction is part of the financing of a $1.1-billion expansion of IEFCL’s existing fertiliser plant at Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

The new plant will be built alongside the existing facility and will double the company’s output to 2.8-million tonnes a year.

“Nigeria has enormous potential to achieve agricultural self-sufficiency and food security. This is evident from the multi-fold increase in domestic fertiliser consumption after the start of Indorama’s first plant. Nigeria has also become a major hub for urea exports,” IEFCL CEO Manish Mundra said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I am delighted that . . . EAIF is again assisting us in growing our business and that IEFCL and EAIF are helping power Nigeria’s economic development.”

EAIF previously provided loans of $48.8-million towards construction of IEFCL’s first Port Harcourt fertiliser plant, which is now operating at full capacity.

An additional 11 km of new gas pipeline that serves the IEFCL facility had already been added to the 84 km installed capacity when the existing plant was built.

“A successful and productive agriculture sector is essential to Nigeria’s future. The new plant for Indorama Eleme can benefit farming communities across Nigeria, which will help combat poverty, stimulate employment and improve the resilience of the Nigerian economy. Projects like IEFCL’s Port Harcourt expansion are of fundamental strategic importance and of exactly the type [EAIF parent company Private Infrastructure Development Group] and its companies are there to support,” EAIF chairperson Patrick Crawford said.

The project directly supports the Nigerian government’s initiative to eliminate the importation of urea and to meet rising local demand for urea fertiliser and, 3 830 people are to be hired to build the new plant while 608 people will have permanent jobs when it comes on stream.  

Construction is expected to take up to 37 months to complete.