Dangote Signs N166bn Sugar Production Pact with Niger State
Dangote Group last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Niger State Government for the establishment of a N166 billion state-of–art and fully integrated sugar complex.
The pact, which was signed in the government house in Minna, will see the company producing raw sugarcane on 16,000 hectares of land at Lavun Local Government through an out-grower scheme.
The company, which is currently operating out-grower scheme in rice production in a number of states, has the Africa’s largest sugar refinery in Lagos and a sugar cane plantation in Numan, Adamawa State.
According to the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, the investment was informed by his company’s firm belief in the potential of the Nigerian economy, adding that the new outlay will add value and create jobs for Nigerians.
He commended the state governor, Abubakar Sani Bello for his foresight and efforts to woo investors to Niger State noting “the Dangote’s Integrated Sugar Project in Niger State will also include the establishment of integrated sugar mills, generate power, produce molasses, ethanol fuel, biomass and produce animal feeds.
In his remarks, Governor Bello said the deal would revolutionise agriculture in his state and Nigeria. The governor then urged Dangote Group to explore other investment opportunities available in the state, just as he announced that the state was opened for multi-sectoral investments.
Niger State Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry, Rahmatu Muhammad Yar’adua said that the deal with Dangote Group would help grow the agricultural sector and create direct and indirect jobs in the state.
Group Managing Director of Dangote Sugar Plc, Abdullahi Sule stated that the MoU would be a game changer for Niger State economy and Nigeria as a whole. He said the integrated sugar mills will have the capacity to produce 160,000 metric tonnes of raw sugar, noting that the company has been in the fore front of support for government industrialisation programmes through backward integration policy in agriculture.
According to Abdullahi, Dangote Sugar Refinery is developing a sugar backward integration plan through the production of 1.5MT per annum in 10 years in: Nasarawa, Adamawa, Kogi, Kwara, Taraba and Niger states respectively.
The Group’s Executive Director Stakeholders’ Management and Corporate Communication, Ahmed Mansur had also announced that the group was investing over $1billion in the agricultural sector in the country, specifically in rice, sugar, tomato and dairy productions.