THE Ondo State government, under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement between it and Greenfield Assets Limited, has launched the siting of an egg powder plant valued at N42bn in the state.
The plant which will be situated at Emure-Ile, near Owo will provide 25,000 new jobs, a foreign exchange earning of $1 billion in addition to increased income for poultry farmers in Nigeria.
The factory is expected to sit on a 150 hectares of land and will produce 10 million broilers per annum with a 4,000 birds per hour meat processing plant; a 600,000 layers farm for the production 100 million eggs per annum; two 20 tons per hour Feed-mill and a 500,000 eggs per day.
Chief Executive Officer of Greenfield Asset Limited, Dr Paul Obanua, while speaking at the ceremony expressed joy at the siting of the factory in Ondo State and noted that within a year, the first phase of the project will be commissioned.
Obanua, who noted that the plant can process over one million eggs a daily basis stressed that the the product, after being processed into liquid form, an last for 18 months.
Speaking at the event, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele expressed delight that the Ondo State government was implementing appropriate measures to make the state a viable destination for local and foreign investment.
Emefiele expressed the readiness of the bank to support the state government to promote small scale entrepreneurs.
He maintained that the project will in no small measure drive the economic growth of the state and by extension the nation, reduce unemployment and increase social cohesion.
The CBN governor said that the project would also help to support the Buhari led government’s determination to increase local production of critical agricultural produce and reduce drastically importation of items that the country can produce.
He lauded efforts of Governor Oluwarotimi the Akeredolu for looking beyond oil and embracing agriculture to drive and change the economic status of the state.
Governor Akeredolu said the powdered egg factory would have great economic impact on the state and the nation at large as the only producer of such product in West Africa.
He said the project would attest to his administration’s determination to industrialise the state.
The governor added that the project is a clear demonstration of his campaign promises to the people and charged the political class in the state to be resolute in effecting positive change in the lives of the people.
The Elemure of Emure Ile, Oba Adedubaje Adeyefa thanked the governor and the company for bringing such huge investment to his domain and pledged their full loyalty to the Akeredolu led government.
SOURCE: TRIBUNE
