The Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC) has uncovered poor functionality of equipment installed at the moribund Katsina-Ala Yam Flour Processing Factory, following an audit of the facility’s assets located in Kastina-Ala Local Government Area of the state.
BIPC Group Managing Director, Dr Raymond Asemakaha, who at the weekend expressed concern over the quality of the machinery, said the equipment appeared to have been assembled with low-grade metals.
He raised questions about the equipment durability and compliance with required standards.
Asemakaha made the observation when BIPC commenced an assessment of the factory as part of efforts to determine the technical and operational requirements for reviving the facility.
Also, foreign technicians engaged by BIPC, who participated in the assessment, expressed concerns over the quality of the equipment, particularly its ability to function effectively and meet specifications required by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The BIPC GMD noted that the promoters of Founders Investment Limited, which purchased, supplied and installed the machinery, as well as Bimalp West Africa Limited, which served as consultant to the Benue State Government on the project, had been invited to participate in the assessment and resolution of issues surrounding the equipment.
He explained that the revival of the factory remains part of Governor Hyacinth Alia’s directive to resuscitate moribund industries across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said the company was determined to turn dormant industrial assets into productive ventures capable of creating jobs and stimulating economic activities.
‘For too long, the factory has been silent. But silence is about to end. BIPC is here to assess, to plan, and to revive,’ Asemakaha said.
He stressed the need for the state to process its agricultural produce locally rather than exporting raw materials, noting that value addition remained critical to economic development.
‘Poor nations sell raw materials while rich nations sell finished products,’ he said, adding that every dormant industrial asset represented lost opportunities and jobs, particularly for young people.
Asemakaha added that reviving the yam flour factory would benefit farmers, create employment and strengthen local value chains by processing yam produced in Benue into finished products.
He also disclosed that BIPC had paid five months’ salary arrears owed to security personnel at the facility in line with the governor’s directive.
The GMD said BIPC was adopting what he described as the ‘Cash Box Model Economic’ to drive the state’s economy through the activation of dormant assets, value addition to agricultural produce, job creation and sustainable economic activities.
Earlier, the Deputy Chairman of Katsina-Ala LGA, Christopher Chia, who represented the chairman, commended Governor Alia for initiating efforts to revive the facility.
Chia described the intervention as significant to the economic development of the local government and the state, particularly in creating opportunities for residents.
The factory’s Desk Officer, Aondoakaa Bernard, said the plant was established in 2014 but was later abandoned.
He disclosed that the facility had a capacity to handle about 60 metric tonnes of raw materials and 20 metric tonnes of finished products.