NNMC OPERATIONS,OKU IBOKU

Finnish firm rescues Oku Iboku newsprint firm Wednesday, 20 October 2010 01:00 Aniefiok Udonquak

Indications are strong that a Finnish firm has concluded negotiations with the new owner of the privatised Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company of Nigeria (NNMC) in Oku Iboku, Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, for the commencement of production before the end of the year.


Investigations by BusinessDay showed that the new owner of the mill, Negris Limited, which paid $25.5 million to acquire the paper manufacturing company has already concluded the test-running of the mill with a view to getting it back on stream.

BusinessDay learnt from both the employees of the plant and the community leaders that with the coming on board of the Finnish firm, which name they declined to disclose, the mill was expected to commence production of newsprint “before the end of the year.”

Meanwhile, it was gathered that apart from the economic meltdown that mopped up credit lines for the manufacturing industries, the inability of the mill to commence production two years after it was privatised was also due to improper due diligence.

Further investigations also showed that the former technical partners have been dropped.

The employees said by not complying with proper due diligence, the owner underestimated the cost of reactivating the plant, adding that it was one of the reasons the mill remained idle for more than two years since its liquidation until the Finnish firm came on board.

“The negotiation is almost completed with a company in Finland and work is likely to commence by the end of the year,” an employee said.

According to investigations, what was being awaited is the arrival of the Finnish firm which will now serve as the new technical partner.

Another worker who spoke with BusinessDay on condition of anonymity “because I am not authorised to speak with the press,” said all the plants and the machinery have been put in a state of readiness, awaiting the directive on when the plant would be brought back to life.

More investigations revealed that the new company, which is now known as Oku Iboku Pulp and Paper (OKIPP) Company Limited, has acquired a 66 megawatts power plant located within the former NNMC facility and reconfigured it from a liquid-fuel fired plant to gas fired just as it also signed a gas sales purchase agreement with the Nigerian Gas Company for regular supply of gas to the plant.

“We have done much with the test-running of the mill, what we are waiting for is the directive for the plant to roar back to life”, the employee added.

The Paramount Ruler of Itu, Edet Inyang, while confirming to BusinessDay in an interview that the paper manufacturing company is set to start production, expressed delight over the move, saying it would boost the establishment of cluster factories within the area.

According to him, the idea behind the establishment of the mill in 1975 was to shift emphasis from dependence on crude oil as the major source of revenue, maintaining that if the newsprint manufacturing company had been in operation since then, “this part of the country would have achieved a measure of industrialisation.”

Recalling that it was meant to serve as a pilot industry that would attract other industries to the area, he said it was regrettable that the vision could not be realised.

The royal father, who confirmed the plans to reactivate the plant before the end of the year, said from the brief he has received from the new owner of the plant, it is not going to be a plant just for the manufacture of newsprint alone. Rather, “it is going to be a gigantic project involving several other production ventures. If there is no hindrance and if what they are planning goes on well, the company is coming back to life before the end of the year,” he declared.