The Benue State food basket brewery, scheduled for inauguration in October this year, will gulp between N10bn and N15bn on completion.
The brewery, along with its juice and fruit factories, when operational, is expected to create 1,500 jobs to boost the economy of the state.
The Group Managing Director of Benue Investment and Property Company Limited, Dr Raymond Asemakaha, disclosed this to journalists in Makurdi on Thursday.
Asemakaha, who took delivery of 10 truckloads of machine equipment for the brewery, said the company had earlier received 16 truckloads out of the expected 50.
He expressed optimism that the brewery would begin full operation by October 2025.
He said the company targeted October to inaugurate the three factories – 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 reduce unemployment in the state.
He said, “The food basket brewery, Benfruit and juice factories will take off in October this year.
“We are projecting to employ not less than 1,500 direct jobs across the three businesses.
“At the moment, Benue doesn’t have businesses. We are introducing these businesses so that they will help us boost our economy and take our youths off the streets.”
According to Asemakaha, to establish a standard brewery, about £5m to £10m would be needed, adding that there was no going back, having started work already.
When inaugurated, he projected that the brewery factory alone would generate between N400m and N500m monthly.
Asemakaha said the factories earlier established had provided 580 direct jobs and over 3,000 indirect jobs for the people.
“We want our money to circulate within the state to boost our economy. The brewery is a big market. The profit of the Nigerian Brewery, the last time I knew, was over N26bn a month.
“In the end, Benue is one of the contributors in that market, but we didn’t tap into it.
“Even if we can 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,” he said.
Dr Asemakaha lauded Governor Hyacinth Alia for his support of the company and pledged its commitment to the administration’s industrialisation agenda.
