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Lagos Almost Ready To Supply 20% Of Nigeria’s Rice Demand

Lagos Almost Ready To Supply 20% Of Nigeria's Rice Demand %Post Title

 

 

 

 

Construction works on the Lagos rice mill project is nearing completion, moving the state to roll out the produce in its efforts to meet the 20 percent rice demand in the country.

The project is being built with a capacity to produce 32 metric tons of rice per hour and 2.8 million bags of 50kg bags of rice per annum.  In terms of national importance, the rice mill is expected to meet 15 to 20 per cent of national demand for rice.”

Figures from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) show Nigeria imported 2.3 million tonnes in 2016, almost half of the country’s estimated requirements of 5.2 million tonnes for the year.

In a period of five years, specifically between 2012 and 2017, Nigeria imported nearly 17 million tonnes, spending $5 million a day on rice shipment, an expenditure that accounted for 1.26 percent of the Nigeria’s budget for 2017.

The Lagos rice mill which together with the industrial park which is about 60 percent completion, will be a major boost to employment, creating over 1,500 direct jobs and 254,000 indirect jobs when finally put to use.

Besides the job creation, the project is also a boost for infrastructure in the Ikorodu division where two major critical roads – the Igbogbo road and the Agric-Ishawo road that are currently in deplorable condition, have now been scheduled for repairs immediately the rain season is over.

Already, the substructure of the mill which saw about 700 piles being sunk, had been completed while six of the 16 silos planned for the mill have also been installed in the efforts to being production by early 2020.

Josiah Samuel, Managing Director of CIBA Construction Company Limited – the contractor handling the project – assured on the commitment to the agreed completion date, disclosing that the firm was re-mobilised back on 12 months ago.

“The rice mill is being put together. There are different components of the rice mill. We are done with entire piling work; we have had to sink 700 piles on the site. The substructure of the mill is completed

“There are 16 silos to be constructed on the rice mill site, but the substructures of the six of the silos have been completed. We expect that before the end of 2019, this facility should be up and running.”

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The rainy season seems to be the main challenge to the construction work on the twin project which completion will further establish the state as the leading emloyment generation in the country.

The twin project is being jointly built by the Ministries of Agriculture, and Commerce and Industry. The rice mill sits on 8.5 hectres out of the 26 Hectres developed for the entire project. The construction works are supervised by the Ministry of Works.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on inspection of the capital intensive and strategic project that is projected to be the biggest in the country on completion, promised to continue all unfinished projects initiated by previous administrations.

The Governor accompanied by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, and Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola expressed satisfaction on the level of work done by the contractor, but said a lot of work still needed to be done. He assured that the contractor would be kept on site to ensure timely completion.

“The tour of the project site is another pointer to our pledge of continuity in governance. We are taking the pain to come down to Imota to assess the magnitude of the rice mill and industrial park project initiated by my predecessors. This is a 32-metric tons per hour rice mill, which is the biggest in the country.

“By the end of this year, we should see the first phase of the project completed. It is not for us to just have the biggest rice mill, but to also begin a conversation with rice producers in rural areas to have massive cultivation and production through the mill.

“The mill is being built with a capacity to store up to 36 months of hundreds of thousands of rice bags. We have studied the entire value chain and we are speaking to other stakeholders to ensure this project, when completed, can galvanise people towards the objective of President Muhammadu Buhari, which is developing local capacity towards boosting agriculture and feeding the nation from local produce.”

The light industrial park on the project site, Sanwo-Olu said, is being built by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to boost small and medium scale businesses around the axis. The Governor said the park would have amenities that would make businesses to thrive and bring returns on investment to business owners.

Major beneficiaries of the project are residents of Ikorodu and small businesses around the area that have been affected by the deplorable state of the Agric-Ishawo and Igbogbo Roads that have now been scheduled for repairs.

“We are aware of two major critical roads that are in Ikorodu Division; the Igbogbo Road and Agric-Ishawo Road. Once the heaviness of the rains subsides, which is likely to be in couple of weeks away, we expect that the contractor will fully re-mobilise to the sites’ noted the Governor.

“I appeal to residents to bear with us, but we will take responsibility of the rehabilitation of these important roads. Government is a continuum and we are going to fulfill our campaign promises to complete all abandoned projects. We are appealing to our teaming citizens in Ikorodu to be patient. We know how critical these roads are to their wellbeing.

“I had been on these roads before and I know the conditions they are presently. It is for the people to exercise patience because for road construction, we need to be very tactical to ensure there is no wastage in materials. Once the rain subsides a little bit, the contractor will be fully mobilised to sites and Lagosians will begin to see major improvement on the two artery roads in Ikorodu.”   (Inside Business Online)

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