Citadel Capital plans 2010 Sudan cement production

CAIRO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Citadel Capital, an Egyptian private equity firm with $8.3 billion in assets, said on Thursday it planned to start production at its Sudan cement facility in 2010 and was eyeing projects in east Africa.

Its platform company ASEC Cement is finalising construction of its Takamul plant in Sudan, a statement said.

Citadel said it was looking to invest $200-$400 million in capital in 2010 when its plans include expanding beyond Sudan and into east Africa.

"We have been spending a fair amount of time in Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya and we have people down there evaluating a number of opportunities," managing director Marwan Elaraby said.

Citadel said it expected to see an investment in east Africa within the next six months. "We believe the growth potential in Sudan and Africa as a whole is immense," Ahmed Heikal, founder and chairman of Citadel Capital, said.

Citadel entered Sudan in 2007 and now has investments worth around $750 million, in agriculture, logistics and river transportation, as well as cement and mining, managing director Ahmed el Houssieny said.

Gulf and other Arab countries have been investing in a range of farming projects in Sudan, Africa's biggest country by area and long viewed as having huge agricultural potential.

Citadel entered Sudan's farming sector in 2008 with platform company Sabina, which secured a lease for 106,700 hectares in north Sudan's White Nile state. The project is focusing on large-scale crops and a sugar plant.

Another Citadel platform company, Sudanese Egyptian Agricultural Crops Company (SEAC), secured a 25-year lease on 105,000 hectares in south Sudan's Unity state.

SEAC will grow cash crops such as rice, maize, sunflower and grain legumes, and will invest in poultry and animal husbandry. (Writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Rupert Winchester)