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The Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC), has commenced the auditing of two additional moribund industries in Benue State, as part of plans to revive abandoned industries, with the aim of strengthening the economic base of the state.
The Company said, as it revive industries that have been abandoned over time, it seeks to address the root causes of industrial decline as a pathway to sustainable economic development.
The Group Managing Director (GMD, BIPC, Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen when the state’s inspection team, led by the Deputy Governor, Barr. Sam Ode, visited the abandoned Igumale Cement Factory and the Otukpo Burnt Bricks project as part of the ongoing assessment.
He explained that the exercise forms part of BIPC’s Root Cause Analysis (RCA) aimed at identifying and resolving the factors responsible for the collapse of industries in the state.
According to Dr. Asemakaha, the RCA identified policy inconsistency, lack of continuity in government programmes, the collapse of state-owned enterprises, inadequate private sector investment and public-private partnerships, poor infrastructure, and weak value chains as the major factors behind the decline of Benue’s industrial sector.
He noted that even though the population of the state has increased from 2.5 million during the administration of late Governor Aper Aku, to over 7 million today, industrial productivity has declined significantly.
Dr. Asemakaha recalled that Benue once hosted thriving industries such as Benue Brewery, Taraku Mills, Benro Packaging, Lobi Bank Fertilizer plants and Benue Bottling Company Limited; Flour Mills, Makurdi, Benue Cement, Modern Market, Ber-Agbum Fish Farm, Zaki Biam Yam Flour, Makurdi Sheraton Hotels, Ikyogen Cattle Ranch, but lamented that many of the companies have either collapsed or become moribund.
Despite the development, he noted that the administration of Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, is determined to reverse the trend through the audit and revitalisation of abandoned industries, revival of the Aku industrial model, development of industrial clusters, aggressive investment promotion, value-chain development and human capital investment.
The GMD stressed that “For every dormant industry, jobs are taken away. Our methodology is simple—revive industries, create jobs, reduce overdependence on government, diversify the economy and add value to our agricultural produce.
“We pledge to build a resilient and sustainable economy by ushering in a resistant private sector, driven with manufacturing positioned as a major catalyst for industrial growth, job creation, economic diversification and sustainability.
“Our strategy is hold a 35% equity share through state participation, ensuring alignment with national industrialization and job creation goals, while private investors take lead”, Dr Asemakaha stated.
During the exercise, the State Deputy Governor, Barr Sam Ode, said the inspection was in line with Governor Hyacinth Alia’s directive to assess abandoned industries in Benue South senatorial district, with a view to restoring them to full operation.
He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to revitalizing moribund industries as a strategy for stimulating economic growth and improving the livelihoods of the people.
Director of Industry, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Desk Officer for the project, Mrs. Mbamilin Yandev, disclosed that the state government and the Chinese company assigned to work on the Cement factory, commenced the installation of the Igumale Cement Factory in 2001.
According to her, both parties secured an 80-million-dollar facility from the Chinese Government under a seven-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement.
She explained that the last communication between the state government and the company was in 2017, when the Chinese firm requested the completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and mining lease before continuing with the project. However, the process was not concluded at the time.
Chairman, Ado Local Government Area (LGA), Engr. Sunny Oche, the APC senatorial candidate, Francis Ottah Agbo, and House of Representatives candidate, Anthony Agom commended Governor Alia, for taking concrete steps to revive the abandoned cement factory.
During the inspection, Asemakaha directed that work on the factory resume immediately. He also renewed the state’s invitation to the Chinese firm, Zhengzhou Cangxi Industry and Commerce Development Company Ltd, to return and complete the installation of the long-abandoned cement plant.
The BIPC boss assured the Chinese firm that the state government would facilitate the completion of the outstanding EIA, and mining lease documentation required for the project to resume operations.
The delegation also inspected the Otukpo Burnt Bricks factory, where the GMD, ordered that rehabilitation work commence at the factory that was established by the administration of late Governor Aper Aku in the 1980s. End
