Golden Guinea Breweries Limited, Umuahia, a major player in the brewing industry in Nigeria, which was moribund, will commence production in July, 2016, says Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State.
The Governor in his quarterly press briefing, which held at the Government House, Umuhia, revealed that rehabilitation work on the facility is almost ready, noting that products from the factory, would hit the market in the third quarter of this year.
Recall that the Abia State Government set up a committee to revive the abandoned Golden Guinea Breweries, when it discovered that the company, which was earlier said to have been sold to a private company was not actually sold to anybody.
The committee was set up to find a lasting solution to the problems of the company, established by the administration of Michael Okpara, as premier of the defunct Eastern Region in 1960.
Governor Ikpeazu has promised to revive the brewery and other moribund industries in the State, to provide jobs for the people.
According to him, improving the economy of the State is one of the focal points of our administration.
“We have identified about seven companies in the State that are not functioning at the moment. We are going to talk to the owners of those companies, to see how they can leverage on Government, to ensure that those companies come back to life.
“If we return those companies to functionality, it means that a lot of people will leave the streets as unemployed people. We are going to take stock of the unemployed in all the 17 Local Government Areas of the State, to look at their qualifications and competencies, so that we can target our efforts at those that need them.
“We will think about bringing-in equipment that will release the burden and hardship of making one-thousand pairs of shoes. Instead of spending two years to make one-thousand shoes, we want to be able to produce that quantity in a number of hours.
“We will also bring-in equipment that can help them finish the products in such a way that they can be evacuated and marketed even in Paris, England or in New York,” he affirmed.
The resurgence of Golden Guinea Breweries if it eventually happens will heat up competition in the alcoholic beverages industry which is dominated by key players Nigerian Breweries. Four global players are operational in the Nigerian beer market with Diageo and Heineken as the most active players through their majority-controlled subsidiaries.
GODFREY OFURUM
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