Fast-tracking Biya's Industrialisation Master Plan: SNH, partners concretise move to make Cameroon biggest tiles producer in Central Africa.

A strategic step in this direction, by SNH, was the official inauguration of the first natural gas supply to the tiles production factory, Keda Cameroon Ceramics Ltd. The company is headquartered in Bipaga, on the outskirts of Kribi, in Lokoundje Subdivision.

Keda Cameroon Ceramics Ltd. is a local subsidiary of Chinese group, Keda Industrial Group CO. Ltd. 

With the supply of natural gas, the company, which is one of the leaders in the tiles production sector globally, is set to soon begin the local production of tiles in all categories.

This will be based on local raw materials such as sand, clay among others to meet local demand and also export to Central African countries.

The natural gas supply to Keda Cameroon Ceramics Ltd was official launched Friday June 7. 

This was the high point of an Information Day SNH organised in the seaside town of Kribi. 

The aim was also to sensitise elite and elected officials of Ocean Division of the South Region, on ongoing development projects being carried out to transform the administrative unit, improve the living conditions of inhabitants and contribute to national development.

The session was attended by elite of Ocean Division, led by the President of the Association for the Development of Ocean Division, ADDO, Minister Jules Doret Ndongo. 

Also present were elected officials, including mayors and parliamentarians as well as traditional rulers and other sons and daughters of Ocean Division holding positions of responsibility in different strategic state structures. 

Strategic role of SNH, partner

The natural gas supply was made possible, thanks to a 5.27-kilometer-long pipeline constructed by SNH and its French partner, PERENCO.  

The pipeline is buried at a depth of 1.5 metre in the trenches and a terminal station. It runs from the gas treatment centre built some ten years ago by SNH and PERENCO, under the Sanaga South Association, to produce natural gas reserves of Sanaga South field off the coast of Kribi. 

Officials said the pipeline will help meet the initial natural gas need for the Keda plant, which is estimated at between 3.5 and 6.5 million cubic feet of gas (100,000 to 184,000 cubic metres) per day. 

The natural gas makes it possible for the Keda company to have adequate temperatures, which was difficult to have with electricity, in order to produce good quality tiles.

Ocean elite, officials sensitised on ongoing projects 

During a workshop prior to the visit to the various project sites, Nathalie Moudiki, presented a message from SNH Executive General Manager, in which elite and elected officials were told that the meeting was of strategic importance.

The representative of SNH boss said the goal of the meeting was to make them better understand the giant integrated projects being carried by the SNH and its partners, which socio-economic spin-offs will be of great benefit to the local population.

Nathalie Moudiki said the workshop was also to edify elite on the vision of SNH, as it intends to position itself sustainably within the dynamics of the country's Industrialisation Master Plan. 

Nathalie Moudiki said SNH wants to position itself as a supplier of sufficient, stable and low-pollution energy, so as to be able to write the finest pages of Cameroon's industrial renewal.

The ongoing emblematic projects, she told elite, are those currently being executed by SNH and its French partner, PERENCO, and Chinese company, KEDA. 

SNH fast-tracking Biya’s industrialisation plan 

The projects, she noted, fall squarely within Cameroon's Industrialisation Master Plan, spearheaded by the President of the Republic, Paul Biya. 

She said the plan is aimed at developing sectors that can significantly reduce over importation of goods and services in order to readjust negative trade balance.

“This project involves the construction, by SNH, of a gas pipeline to supply natural gas to the ceramics production plant built by the Chinese group Keda, at Bipaga, in the Lokoundje Subdivision,” Nathalie Moudiki told elite.

The Sanaga South field with capacity of 216 million watts (MW) to supply the thermal power plant in Kribi as well as the gas processing centre, she further detailed, are being operated by PERENCO. 

“Indeed, by making natural gas available to Keda, SNH is enabling the Chinese group, recognised as one of the world leaders in ceramics, to produce 50,000m² of tiles per year. This will contribute to a considerable reduction in ceramic imports and will inevitably have a beneficial effect on our country's balance of trade,” Nathalie Moudiki said. 

She explained that by supplying sufficient energy to Keda factory, SNH is setting a remarkable milestone for the Kribi industrial zone, which development, the Head of State, Paul Biya, called for, on October 09, 2011, when he laid the foundation stone for the Kribi Deep Seaport. 

Appeal for population to embrace, protect projects 

Closing the information session after deliberations and presentations to the elite, the representative of SNH boss expressed gratitude to all elite and elected officials for their massive turnout and interest in projects being carried out in the Division by SNH and its partners, based on the valuable questions they asked. 

She said SNH is through these projects, consolidating President Paul Biya’s Import-Substitution Policy. 

Nathalie Moudiki then urged all and sundry to embrace locally made products such as the ceramic tiles that will be produced by Keda. 

Zooms on SNH’s contribution to state budget

The representative of SNH boss used the opportunity to present recent strides made by the corporation in contributing to the state budget.  

She disclosed that SNH, has in respect of revenues generated by sales of the state's share of national crude oil and natural gas production, made huge deposits at the state treasury, amounting to 622,840 billion FCFA in 2023. 

In the last five years, from 2019 to 2023, she revealed that SNH has also transferred a total of 2,599.288 billion FCFA to the state treasury.

Over the same period, SNH, she added, through the optimal management of its equity portfolio, has paid dividends of around 63 billion FCFA to the state, its sole shareholder. 

“In this respect, we are pleased to point out that SNH is one of the few publicly-owned companies to pay dividends to the state every year. In other words, SNH intends to continue to fully and effectively carry out the mandate entrusted to it by the state; namely the development of the country's oil and gas resources,” she assured. 

Ocean elite hail SNH

Speaking on behalf of elite and elected officials of Ocean Division, the President of the Association of Development of Ocean Division, who doubles as Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Jules Doret Ndongo, expressed gratitude to the Executive General Manager of SNH, for the multiform socio-economic development projects being carried in Ocean Division. 

He said the giant projects are a testament to the fact that the development vision of the Head of State is being realised and is enormously making the Ocean Division a veritable economic hub. 

The President of the Republic’s ambitions of yesterday, Minister Doret Ndongo said, are today great realisations as seen through the different development projects such as roads, energy supply, the deep seaport among others. 

“Today, we have witnessed what SNH, PERENCO and Keda have done for us,” he said, expressing delight that the projects will “create jobs, pay taxes to the state and create wealth for the population”. 

“On behalf of the elite and population, I wish to say Thank You to the Head of State and to say we are very happy with SNH. Please continue like that…we think that the future of Ocean Division is really bright…with all these, the population will continue to support the Head of State,” Minister Doret Ndongo said. 

Enter SNH’s partners 

The Director General of PERENCO, Yves Postec, speaking during the workshop, lauded the collaboration of the local population to the realisation of the project. 

He mentioned social projects realised by the company to the benefit of the population added to direct and indirect jobs it is providing to the locals. 

Taking the cue, the Director General of Keda Cameroon Ceramics Ltd, Eric Wang Keda, said despite the challenges, cooperation has led to the realisation of the over seven billion FCFA-worth project. 

With the project, he said, Cameroon will soon become the largest producer of tiles in the Subregion. The company, he told elite and elected officials, has the capacity to produce 50,000 metres square of tiles each year.

The company, he said, plans to invest in Cameroon and double its investment in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and will provide thousands of direct and indirect jobs to citizens. 

Key activities of gas treatment centre 

Aside visiting and officially launching the natural gas supply to Keda Ceramics Cameroon Limited, SNH and its partners also took elite and elected officials of Ocean Division to the gas treatment Centre in Bipaga. 

While at the gas treatment centre at Bipaga, it was disclosed by PERENCO technicians that five products are produced for both the local and international markets. 

The centre, it was disclosed, has the capacity to produce 35,000 tonnes of million standard cubic feet (mmscfd) per year, which covers 25% of domestic gas demand. 

Since 2018, SNH has been operating a Liquified Petroleum Gas, LGP, (commonly known as domestic gas) storage and loading depot in Bipaga, on the outskirts of Kribi. 

The gas supplied by SNH, it was explained, is delivered by tankers to marketers, who bottle it up in cylinders before putting them on the market.

PERENCO officials also told the visiting delegation that they produce 5 million standard cubic feet per year Gas to Industry, for factories in need like Keda Cameroon Ceramics Ltd.

It was also disclosed that 28 million standard cubic feet per year of Gas to Power and 216 million watts, are produced for the Kribi Power Development Company, KPDC.

The gas treatment centre, they also disclosed, produces Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and Condesats. LNG, the technicians explained, is obtained by condensing natural gas, which, once cooled to 163°C, becomes liquid.

Liquification, they added, reduces the volume of the gas 600 times, making it possible to transport it by ship for exportation. Once in its destination, the PERENCO officials added, the LNG is heated and returns to its gaseous state. 

Reactions

Population should protect project & their interests - Fofang Nicholas Ndeh, Gas Dev’t Manager at SNH

“The project is for the population and they are actually the first beneficiaries. When we talk of the population, we want to start with the immediate community to let them know that this project is for them. They have to understand what is been done here so that they can better protect it and protect their interests. Most of the time when there is miscommunication, there are always problems. This project comes with a lot of benefits for Cameroon at large and for the population here in particular. Some were employed during the construction phase. Others will be employed during the production phase. We are talking here about 1,000 and 3,000 direct employment and a lot of indirect employment. This project is coming with a lot of benefits for the population. They have to understand that is the reason we are here to talk to them and make them understand that we are here for them”. 

Environmental concerns are taken into account - Soya Bissaya Igor Emmanuel, Technical Adviser No.2, president of pipeline project team 

“As you know, SNH is a catalyst for development in Cameroon. It was important for us, after the KPDC project, to follow up the project with Keda. Gas is a very important resource for Cameroon. We are called upon to further develop this resource. So, the Keda project is just the first of several projects that will soon see the light of day in Kribi. It is important that people are fully aware of what we are doing, especially with regards to gas. As you know, when we talk about gas, it usually has a negative connotation. People think of it as a dangerous substance. In reality, gas is a substance that we master perfectly. It is also important to point out that the gas projects we are working on with are important projects for society. As I have already said, the KPDC project will supply electricity to Cameroon while the Keda project will supply tiles to Cameroonians. It is important for the population and the elite to be fully aware of these projects, and to understand that projects that are linked with gas are not as risky as people think. As far as the environment is concerned, a social and environmental impact study has been carried out. The study for these projects is underway, and of course we are working with all the communities and associations concerned to make sure that all environmental concerns are taken into account”. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No3137 of Monday June 10, 2024