Wärtsilä has been awarded a contract from United Cement Company of Nigeria Ltd. (UNICEM) to supply three Wärtsilä 18V50DF generating sets and related equipment for a 47 MWe power plant at a new cement works located at Calabar in Cross River State, Nigeria. The power plant is estimated to come on-line in the beginning of 2008.
 
The engines will initially burn heavy fuel oil but, as dual-fuel engines, they will be changed to run on natural gas as the main fuel when it becomes available at the cement works. The dual-fuel capability of the engines will allow UNICEM to manage its fuel costs by using the lowest cost fuel available.
 
The power plant will be the sole source of electrical power for the cement plant which is isolated from the national grid.
 
Phase 1 of the new cement plant is being built on a greenfield site and will have a planned annual production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes. The cement plant is located near the port of Calabar in south-eastern Nigeria. It will be able to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement.