VANGUARD - By Gabriel EwepuABUJA - A fertiliser giant,OBAX Worldwide, a petrochemical company based in the United States has concluded plans to establish a fertiliser plant worth $200 million in Nigeria.
Managing Director, OBAX, Mr Patrick Obasuyi, disclosed this at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja.
Obasuyi said within the next 12 months the plant would produce 150 000 tonnes of urea and 100 000 tonnes of almonium when fully operational.
He said:"It is worth $200 million, and it will require 15 megawatt of electricity, one of our expanded project on this project is to increase the electricity we generate to 350 megawatts from this facility.
He said the plant would be located in Edo State, and also commended the host community for being excited and supportive.
However,he said OBAX has been operating in Nigeria for seven years now and has contributed to the growth of host communities by providing electricity transformers, boreholes, building and renovating schools.
He further stated that the company intends to relocate eight of its subsidiaries to Africa and that Nigeria was among the priority countries for hosting some of them.
In his rrsponse Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Sonny Echono, commended OBAX for the move and confidence to invest hugely in the Nigerian ecconomy choosing.
Echono who was represented by the Director, Farm inputs, Mr Akinbola Osho, said the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) has attracted huge private sector investment in the last four years.
He pledged the support and commitment of the ministry for the project.
Also speaking, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Agribussiness, Dr Tony Bello, said ATA have faith in private sector driven agriculture.
Bello also stressed that government has the role of creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and grow.
He revealed that the fertiliser sub-sector has attracted $5billion direct private sector investment over the last four years. He urged the company to take advantage of the country's over 84 million hectares of arable land and for it to consider the aspect of their investment on soil management and crop production.