Benue’s abandoned $50m Agro Plant still Intact, dry-run tests begin Monday – GMD 

The Benue State Government says it will revive a dormant agro-processing factory valued at over $50 million, about N70 billion, describing the facility as a critical asset for job creation and economic development.

Raymond Asemakaha, Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), disclosed this during an inspection visit to the factory, which has remained inactive since 2009.

He said the Government is determined to bringing the plant back to life, noting that reviving existing assets is more cost-effective than building new ones.

“Lessons have been learnt from past attempts to lease government assets to operators who lacked the capacity to manage them, to this end, government was committed to restoring the factory to full operation”, he said.

The BIPC boss said the facility still has most of its equipment intact and in near-new condition despite 16 years of abandonment, attributing the preservation to the vigilance of the host community and security personnel, adding that unlike many Government facilities, no major equipment has been stolen.

According to him, BIPC is currently conducting an asset audit to determine the state of the facility and the investments required to resume operations. Technical personnel who previously worked at the plant will be engaged to carry out assessments and dry-run tests beginning Monday.

The MD announced that the Government would immediately settle five months of outstanding allowances owed to security personnel at the facility in appreciation of their efforts in safeguarding the assets.

James Ikuve, a pioneer Mechanical Engineer at the plant, said the factory is an agro-allied integrated company divided into two divisions: maize and feeds mill, and oil division.

He explained that the maize feed plant has the capacity to process 120,000 tons of maize per annum, while the feeds mill can process 172,300 tons per annum of feeds for all classes of animals.

For the oil division, Ikuve said the preparatory plant has two flaking machines, each with capacity to process up to 200 tons of soya per day, and two presses also rated at 200 tons per day. The solvent extraction plant can process up to 320 tons of beans per day, while the refinery plant is rated at 100 tons per day.

“All this plant sizing is based on 24 hours by five days in a week, 6,000 hours per annum,” Ikuve said. “When this factory was working, we have processed up to 75% of the installed capacity. The last production was done in 2013, under Growrich Resort Limited.”

The BIPC MD projected that the facility could directly engage no fewer than 2,000 youths when fully operational, while creating numerous indirect jobs in farming, transportation and related sectors. He said the factory would support value addition to agricultural produce such as maize and soybeans, create markets for farmers, and stimulate economic activities across the state.

Timothy Adi, Chairman of Gwer East LG, who welcomed the revival of the plan, said “it was like there was no BIPC until the coming of Asemakaha. We look forward to cooperating with this development to see how this facility can be brought back to life.”

Joseph Sough, a Resident and Commander of Civil Protection Guard in Mbawegba, Uger Council Ward, said residents are glad the governor has made up his mind to revive the company, say this help the youth in the area to gain employment. We appreciate him very much.

Emmanuel Atsia, Assistant Director Agro-Allied Industries, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in a remark said, the major challenges of the place were water and power. “If it is not producing at high capacity, these would be its challenges,” he said.