Investment: Never in the south east or south south, Dangote to build N140bn sugar factory in Niger state.

Niger State govern­ment has assured investors of con­ducive atmosphere for their investment to thrive as Dangote Industries Limited conclude plans for the take off of a N148 billion ($450m) sugar fac­tory in the state.

 
The state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello gave the assurance through his deputy, Ah­mad Muhammad Ketso at a meeting between of­ficials of Dangote Group and representatives of Jima-Nupeko villages in Lavun and Mokwa Local Government areas of the state, the host community for the proposed sugar fac­tory.

 
The meeting which took place at the Etsu Nupe’s Palace in Bida was geared towards discussing and harmonizing the interest shown by Dangote Indus­tries Limited to acquire 16,000 hectares of land for sugar cane farming and sugar production in the state.

 
The Governor said that one of the means of creat­ing job opportunities by his administration for the teeming youths in the state is by encouraging investors and development partners.

 
This, he said, will go a long way in boosting the economy of the state, re­duce unemployment and youth restiveness as well as reduce crime rates as people will be gainfully engaged and increase the state’s internally generated revenue.

 
Governor Sani Bello then appealed to other in­vestors, especially those in agriculture and agro-allied industry to cash in on the state’s comparative advan­tage and various economic incentives being offered by the government to invest in the state.

 
The meeting then set up a technical committee to study and harmonize all issues that will engender successful take-off of the sugar factory and report back within six weeks, while the office of the state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice was also directed to pre­pare a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) before the next meeting.

 
The head of Human Resource and Adminis­tration, sugar refinery of Dangote Group, Murtala Zubairu commended the approach of the state gov­ernment for the successful take off of the multi billion Naira project.

 
He said the project which will be in phases will be kick started in a few months, beginning with the sugar cane plantation.

 
Zubairu assured the government and people of the state that Dangote Group is a socially respon­sible entity and promised that the company will not renege on its responsibili­ties to the host community and the state in general.

 
The sugar cane farming and sugar factory, when in place, will provide 2,200 direct jobs, 5,300 indirect jobs, while the plant is ex­pected to produce 1,100 tonnes of sugar annually. The project will also pro­duce ethanol, and gener­ate 20 megawatts of power among others.