Beer jewel under the sun k ÜJ New venture in Nigeria OPENING As beer is such a popular drink in Nigeria, it is not surprising that capacity expansions are needed to keep pace with the growing demand. Three years ago Nigerian Breweries took the decision to add another big plant to the three brewery units they already owned in that country. The new brewery was to be located in Ibadan which, with its millions of inhabitants, lies some 150 kilometres to the north of Lagos. The site covers 70 hectares, but was not all completely level terrain. One million cubic metres of earth had to be moved before construction could be started. That was back in October 1979. On 14 April 1982 the first brew was made, merely one month behind on the schedule laid down three years previously in the plans. A fine achievement by Heineken Technical Services which bore overall responsibility for this construction project on behalf of Nigerian Breweries. The Ibadan region is fairly flat with a lot of grassland and low tree cover. By African standards the landscape is green, for there is a rainy season lasting from July through to October. During that period as much rainfall is recorded every month as falls in Holland in a whole year. But after that deluge the weather remains almost completely dry. Thick layers of dust cover everything and the temperatures range between 30 and 40°C. In the wet season it is not quite so warm, but the humidity is then of course much higher, making the heat seem more oppressive than under a clear blue sky. The new brewery has an initial capacity of 11 million hectolitres a year and can easily be expanded to produce three times this volume. The brewhouse can turn out 4,000 hi a day and 44 giant Apollo tanks for fermentation and lagering are currently installed on the site. As usual, transporting these colossal tanks presented problems. Two low-loaders were specially designed and constructed in Germany for this job. They have load- His Excellency Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Vice-President of Nigeria (fourth from left) during the visit to the brewery on the day of the inauguration. He is accompanied a.o. by Mr. T.J. Davies, Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries (first from left), Mr. Abebe, chairman of the Board of Directors of Nigerian Breweries (third from left), and His Excellency Chief Bola Ige, governor ofOyo State (fifth from left) The governor of Oyo State, His Excellency Chief Bola Ige, during his speech. 16

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Heineken Contact | 1983 | | pagina 16