BUA Group has made significant investments in Port Harcourt, including a $65 million reconstruction of Terminal B of the Rivers Port Complex and a new Plaster of Paris (P.O.P) and plasterboard manufacturing facility. They also operate a sugar refinery and a flour milling plant in Port Harcourt.
The company said this in a statement recently as it replied to the former Managing Director of the National Ports Authority (NPA), who falsely claimed BUA had breached the terms of concession agreement at the terminal.
The company said the current development flowed from a formal approval granted in 2022, when the NPA, under another leadership, decided to implement a directive from the then Attorney General of the Federation.
The company stated that the investment is being carried out without public funds or government subsidies.
BUA Group is investing over $65 million in the reconstruction of Terminal B at the Rivers Port Complex, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2026. This investment is entirely self-funded.
A newly completed Plaster of Paris (P.O.P) and plasterboard manufacturing facility has commenced production, boosting local plaster production and reducing reliance on imports.
BUA Foods has an ultra-modern and automated sugar refinery in Port Harcourt, which is the only one in Nigeria located outside of Lagos State. They also have a state-of-the-art flour milling plant in Port Harcourt.
These investments demonstrate BUA Group’s commitment to infrastructure and manufacturing in Port Harcourt, aiming to improve the value chain and enhance capacity in various industries.
The company stated that the investment is being carried out without public funds or government subsidies.
“Following Ms. Usman’s removal from office, the NPA, under new leadership, implemented the AGF’s position. In 2022, BUA was granted formal approval to resume reconstruction works. The contract was awarded to TREVI, and BUA has since invested over $65 million—entirely self-funded and with no recourse to public funds or subsidies. Work is ongoing and completion is expected in the first quarter of 2026,” the statement read in part.
The rift began in June, 2019, when the ex MD of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman, said that berths 6 and 7 of Terminal B were unsafe, thereby directing BUA to stop work. BUA took the matter to court.
BUA recounts that despite the ongoing legal process, NPA under Hadiza, decommissioned the facility, which according to the company, is a violation of due process.
Through the intervention of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, the matter was referred to the then Attorney General, Abubakar Mallami (SAN).
In a letter dated June 1, 2020, Malami referenced a presidential directive instructing the NPA to withdraw its termination notice, reverse the decommissioning, and reopen the terminal. He also urged both parties to discontinue arbitration and resolve the matter amicably.
In 2021 Usman was removed from office and in 2022, BUA received formal approval to commence work on Terminal B.
The company said the terminal is vital to its $500 million industrial complex in Port Harcourt—including flour, pasta, and sugar production facilities, and that the disruption risked over 4,000 jobs and caused estimated losses of more than $10 million.
These losses were included in court filings before BUA withdrew contempt proceedings in the interest of national development.
