Egi MJG Float Glass, a joint venture between the Egi Community, Mara Group, JS Group and Ghani Group in River State today announced the groundbreaking for their first float glass manufacturing plant in Nigeria, which is valued at $210 million.
The production facility in Rivers State which aims to produce 500 tonnes of float glass per day will cost $110 million during the first phase, and an additional $100 million during the second expansion phase.
During the ceremony, Prashant Manek, Director at Mara Group, declared: "Today's groundbreaking is a first step in making Nigeria self sufficient in terms of glass manufacturing. As a result of the strategic location and the locally available raw materials, we are highly confident that we will be able to build a world-class, cost-competitive facility."
According to Ali Siddiqui, CEO of JS Group, "since the year 2000, the global float glass industry has experienced strong growth. In particular, the industry has significant potential in West Africa and this project in Rivers State is a strategic investment in the building materials sector in Nigeria."
Chief Oris U. Onyiri, President-General of the Egi People's Assemble stated that the community was "extremely excited with the development of this plant." According to him, the development will generate employment and transformation.
Nigeria's domestic demand has increased to an estimated 360,000 tonnes per year as a result of the country's booming housing industry but is highly dependent on imports from Europe, South America and particularly China as a result of the lack of domestic float glass plants.
Egi MJG Float Glass brings together international groups with complementary sector and local expertise. Mara Group is a multi sector conglomerate with operations in 19 African countries, founded by Ashish J. Thakkar.
JS Group is an industrial conglomerate with investments primarily in developing economies throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In terms of sector expertise, Ghani Group is a leading glass manufacturer with plants in the UAE and Pakistan and a total production capacity of over 300,000 tonnes.
The land allocated for the Rivers State glass manufacturing plant belongs to the local Egi Community. The Egi Community is strongly supportive of the project, given the expected benefits to the area, and is also a meaningful shareholder in the plant.
