Wartsila has been contracted to supply a 100MW power plant to be installed in Ewekoro, 70km from Lagos, Nigeria. The order, which was signed in December 2008, has been placed by Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc, a manufacturer and marketer of cement in Nigeria. The company is a subsidiary of Lafarge SA of France. The new power plant will comprise six Wartsila 18V50DF engines that can operate on either heavy fuel oil, light fuel oil or gas. The turnkey project will supply electricity to Lafarge WAPCO’s existing cement works, as well as to its new cement plant currently under construction. This new order, together with the plants already delivered by Wartsila to Nigeria, will produce a combined generating capacity of 400MWe. Wartsila is also currently negotiating a subsequent operations and maintenance agreement whereby it will take responsibility for the running of the power plant, thus allowing the customer to focus on its core cement producing business. When installed, the new plant will ensure a reliable electricity supply to the cement factories thus making them independent of the fluctuating supply from the grid.
