Germany’s MAN Diesel & Turbo is planning to diversify its interests in Nigeria’s electricity market, following the opening of a sales division in Lagos
According to local reports, Adedayo Olowoniyi will head MAN Diesel’s Lagos office. Olowoniyi has been working as the vice-president for business development in Sub-Saharan Africa and managing director of MAN Diesel & Turbo in Nigeria.
At a local event in Lagos, MAN Diesel & Turbo CEO Uwe Lauber said that his company would deepen its presence in Nigeria after identifying the West African nation’s power generation potential. MAN’s expansion plans in Nigeria follows the success of business interests in Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Angola and Namibia
“We have been doing business in Nigeria for a long time. Now, we are in one of Africa’s most economically powerful cities. By deepening our local footprint, we hope to further grow our business affiliations and strengthen our partnership with this country,” Lauber said.
The company’s engines were first installed in Mali and Senegal in 1951, revealed Lauber. Over the past five decades, the company has been responsible for uplifting the power generation capacity across sub-Saharan Africa.
German consul general Ingo Herbert said, “While MAN’s trucks have been a familiar sight for many years, I am very pleased that people and companies in Nigeria now also have direct nationwide access to this company’s high technology solutions in the field of energy generation. The government and society of Nigeria are determined to tackle the current challenges in electricity supply and I am confident that MAN Nigeria Ltd. will make an important contribution here.”
The company is building plants in Senegal, Burkina Faso and Niger. In 2013, MAN built the first ever gas-fired power plant in Gabon, while in 2014, the company commissioned an engine-combined cycle plant in Kenya, revealed head of the African power plants business Martin Kalter.
The continent continues to attract investment as power generation methods are evolving. The use of natural gas is increasing in Nigeria, and Kalter added that the company’s gas engines, dual-fuel engines and gas turbines would augur well for gas-rich regions, where distribution infrastructure is already in place or developing.
