OBAX Worldwide, a petrochemical company and partners based in the U. S., will soon establish a fertiliser plant worth $200 million (N39.4 billion) in Nigeria.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Patrick Obasuyi, disclosed this at a meeting with senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja. Obasuyi said the plant would produce 150, 000 tonnes of Urea and 100, 000 tonnes of ammonium when fully operational within 12 months.
“It is worth 200 million US dollars, it will require 15 megawatt of electricity, one of our expanded projects is to increase the electricity generation to 350 mega watts from this facility. It will require 350 permanent employees, “ he said. The managing director, who said the plant would be located in Edo, explained that OBAX had been operating in Nigeria for seven years now.
He said the company was planning to influence the relocation of eight other companies to Africa and that Nigeria was a priority destination. The Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Sonny Echono, commended the company management for choosing to invest in the country. Represented by Mr Akinbola Osho, the Director, Farm inputs, Echono said the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) has attracted huge private sector investment to the nation in the last four years.
He promised the support and commitment of the Federal Government for the actualisation of the project and described Obasuyi as a trust worthy person. Also speaking, Dr Tony Bello, the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture on Agribusiness, said ATA had faith in private sector-driven agriculture. He said the Federal Government had created an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.
Bello said the fertiliser sub-sector had attracted five billion US dollars direct private sector investment commitments over the last four years. He said there were million hectares of arable land yet to be cultivated across the country, adding that OBAX fertiliser would be needed for soil management and crop production.
