1. Seven hundred million cubic
meters of natural gas that
arise as a byproduct of oil-
drilling operations are flared
in Nigeria every day. The Ikot
Abasi aluminium plant forms
part of the government's plan
to make economically effi-
cient use of that gas.
Julius Berger Nigeria PLC,
Bilfinger Berger AG's Nigerian
affiliate, was lead manager of
the joint venture for the civil
construction works of the
aluminium plant. In addition
to the electrolytic plant, a
gas-turbine power plant, a
jetty and a number of buil-
dings ready for occupation,
were also constructed. The
customer was Ferrostaal AG,
Essen, as general contractor.
Extensive dredging had to be
done before work could start
on the plant on the Imo river
which lies in the swampy
area of the Niger delta. Se-
veral million cubic meters of
sand had to be dredged up
for filling up the site. A 720 m
long electrolytic plant, consi-
sting of four bays 21 m wide,
each of which is equipped
with 108 smelting furnaces,
was built on the 800,000 m²
site. Although those buildings
rest on footing or strip foun-
dations, piles had to be
driven to support the heavier
items of equipment. Rein-
forced, prefabricated con-
crete piles were driven to
depths of up to 45 m for that
purpose.
The electric power for
processing the aluminium ore
is generated by a gas turbine
power plant consisting of six
blocks and designed for a
total output of 540 MW. The
natural gas for operating the
power plant is supplied by a
100-km pipeline from Bonny
oil fields.
Since Ikot Abasi is difficult to
reach from the inland side,
raw materials and the finished
products are shipped in and
out by water. The joint ven-
ture therefore built a 300 m
long finger pier on the bank
of the Imo river. A four-
kilometer road links the pier
to the plant.
Ikot Abasi, which has a capa-
city of 193,000 metric tons
annually, is one of Africa's
largest aluminium plants.
n Contract Value:
USD (m) 392.7
n Construction Period:
04/1990 - 12/1999
n Client:
Ferrostaal AG, Essen
n Services:
Civil works for an
aluminium smelter plant
incl. infrastructure
Reg.31-JB-500-19.5.821-00-A
Aluminium PlantAluminium PlantAluminium PlantAluminium Plant
Ikot AbasiIkot AbasiIkot AbasiIkot Abasi,,,,
NigeriaNigeriaNigeriaNigeria