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Sugar Council Unveils $7.1bn 10-year Roadmap to 2MT Local Production
The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has unveiled a $7.1 billion, 10 year investment programme aimed at raising Nigeria’s annual sugar production beyond two million metric tonnes and saving the country about $2.1 billion in foreign exchange annually.
The NSDC Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, disclosed this while receiving the new leadership of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN), which paid a courtesy visit to the Council.
The programme, which requires $5 billion in debt financing and $2.1 billion in equity, is built around optimising existing estates, expanding incumbent operators and developing new greenfield sugar projects.
Under the plan, 10 new greenfield estates are expected to produce about 835,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually at full capacity.
The projects, he said, have credible promoters identified and 143,478 hectares of land secured, with a combined planned milling capacity of 55,500 tonnes of cane per day. Each estate is designed to produce sugar, ethanol and power.
The Council said the projects are undergoing independent technical reviews to ensure they meet bankability requirements and attract the necessary investments.
According to the plan, existing estates are projected to contribute about 100,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually, while incumbent operators are expected to produce about 1.22 million metric tonnes. Combined with the output from the 10 greenfield projects, national production is expected to exceed two million metric tonnes annually, above current domestic demand of about 1.8 million tonnes.
As part of efforts to increase raw material supply, the NSDC is targeting 11,000 hectares of farmer grown sugarcane around existing mills. So far, 7,000 hectares, representing 64 per cent of the target, have been identified with partners in Kwara, Niger and Adamawa states.
The initiative is expected to supply about 880,000 metric tonnes of sugarcane to existing mills and generate approximately 88,000 metric tonnes of sugar annually.
To address shortages of technical expertise and quality planting materials, Mr. Bakrin the Council has also strengthened the Nigeria Sugar Institute to provide training, extension services, planting materials and technical support for project evaluation and estate development.
The $7.1 billion programme is expected to create about 110,000 direct and indirect jobs, impact more than one million livelihoods and increase the gross domestic product of host communities by more than 100 per cent over 10 years.
The NSDC also projects annual emissions reductions of about two million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through the programme’s implementation.
The Council said it would monitor estate development and performance through physical inspections and satellite technology to ensure measurable progress towards sugar self sufficiency.
