Benue brewery to boost economy with 1500 jobs, ready for inauguration in October
Raymond Asemakaha
The Food Basket Brewery expected to be launched in October this year will be gulping between N10 billion and N15 billion upon completion.
The Group Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company Limited, Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, explained this to journalists in Makurdi, the state capital, on Thursday.
Asemakaha who took delivery of 10 truck loads of machine equipment for the brewery said that the company had earlier received 16 truck loads of machines for the brewery out of the expected 50 trucks.
He expressed optimism that the brewery, along with the Benfruit and Juice factories, would commence full operations by October, creating at least 1,500 jobs to boost the state’s economy.
According to the CMD, the company has slated October, this year to inaugurate the three factories which included, the Food Basket Brewery, Benfruit, and Juice factories
He explained that the expected factories would be added to existing factories such as table water, nails, polythene and bakery factories to take off the growing multitude of graduates off the streets.
He said, “The Food Basket Brewery, Benfruit and Juice factories all will take off in October this year. We are projecting to employ not less than 1500 direct jobs across the three businesses.
“At the moment, Benue doesn’t have businesses, we are introducing these businesses so that it will help us boost our economy and take our youths out of the streets.”
He added, “To establish a standard brewery, about £5m to £10m was needed for the project and we have already started and there is no going back.”
When inaugurated, he projected that the brewery factory alone will generate between N400 million to N500 million monthly.
Asemakaha said that factories earlier established had provided 580 direct jobs and over 3000 indirect jobs for the people of the state.
He said, “We want our money to rotate within the state to boost our economy. The brewery is a big market. The profit of the Nigerian Brewery the last time I know was over 26 billion a month.
“At the end, Benue is one of the contributor in that market but we didn’t tap into it. Even if we are able to have within 50 to 60 per cent it should be able to return the cash flow within the state.
“The businesses that we have introduced, the bread, nails, water, polythene factories are to give our people jobs and we feel that is the best way to contribute to the development of our economy.”
Asemakaha thanked the state governor, Hyacinth Alia, for his support to BIPC and pledged the company’s commitment to the administration’s industrialisation agenda.
