BUA eyes 100,000 tons of sugar after December 2020

BUA Group is planning to produce 100,000 tons of sugar after the sugar refinery is completed in December 2020. The conglomerate is also expecting to feed the coming refinery from its sugarcane plantations in Kwara.

 “What we are trying to do is to produce not only plantation of raw sugar but also refined sugar,” Abdulsamad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, said last Thursday at a tour of his sugar plantations by critical stakeholders.

“So, as you saw when we went around the factory, you will see that we have all the equipment for us to be able to complete this project by December next year, God willing. We have the equipment to be able to produce 10,000 tons per day,” he further said.

The tour of the Lafiagi factory/ plantation was embarked upon by Adeniyi Adebayo, minister of Industry, Trade and Investment;  Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Kwara State governor; Aliko Dangote,  Africa’s richest man, and other top players in the corporate business community in Nigeria.

Rabiu hailed Abdulrazaq for his ‘maximum support’ for the conglomerate and his drive to attract investments to Kwara State.

On his part, Adebayo expressed the federal government’s readiness to assist manufacturers in Nigeria.

Adebayo, who observed that the factory aptly keys into the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s campaign for local content, food security and less reliance on importation of goods, commended BUA Group for the huge investment which would employ thousands of Nigerians when completed.

 “The whole basis of this visit is for me to have first-hand knowledge of what is going on here. This will enable me to sit down (with my team) and see what we can do to assist you to fast track things, especially as regards what we are trying to achieve in the local sugar production,” Adebayo said.

In a statement by Rafiu Ajakaye, the governor’s spokesperson said Abdulrazaq gave assurance that the state was open to business.

“I welcome you all to Kwara. We are open to business. Ours is to assist you and ease the business environment for you so that you can invest more in Kwara. Our doors are open. We will make sure to keep you in Kwara,” the statement quoted the governor as saying.

The tour came a day after the governor had said the state would scale up its security arrangements as part of its overall strategy to attract more investments.