Dangote to spend $1bn on rice project ..assures on local content on refinery
The Dangote Group has disclosed it is investing $1bn on rice cultivation in five states to boost food self-sufficiency.
To mark its day at the just concluded Gateway Fair, which held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Dangote Cement, a subsidiary of the Group, gave out many tools and implements to the block makers in the state in appreciation of their patronages.
A statement from the Corporate Communications department of the Group said that items such as wheel barrowers, shovels, umbrellas and handgloves were donated to block makers who assembled from different areas of the state.
Commending Dangote Group for its sponsorship and participation at the Fair, president of the Ogun State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OGUNCCIMA), Mrs Adesola Adebutu, said the support given by the Group went a long way in making the staging of the fair a success.
A director of the Dangote Group, Tunde Mabogunje, who represented the Group at the special day, said that the partnership with OGUNCCIMA was beneficial as Ogun State is the host of the 12 million metric tonnes per annum Dangote Cement plant, Ibese, the second largest cement plant in Nigeria.
“We are investing about $1bn in rice cultivation. We have an outgrowers scheme where thousands of farmers are empowered with improved seeds and items needed to cultivate rice.”
Meanwhile, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Dangote Industries Limited have begun to collaborate towards ensuring maximum utilisation of local capacities and capabilities in the construction of the company’s 650,000 barrels per day petroleum refinery plant.
The company also pledged among other things, to utilise certified Nigerian service companies for the fabrication of modules, pipe coating, as well as the supply of paints and cables.
A statement from the NCDMB said the two organisations would hold technical meetings and undertake a tour of the project site to examine extensively other Nigerian Content opportunities that could be utilised on the project.
The collaboration was agreed in Lagos after the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, led a team from the board to meet with the management of Dangote Group, led by its President, Alhalji Aliko Dangote. OVERLAND AIRWAYS DANA AIR