Oyo sugar factory reaches test-running stage after over a decade

Oyo Sugar and Derivatives Industries Limited factory

The Oyo Sugar and Derivatives Industries Limited factory in Iseyin, Oyo State, has reached the commissioning and test-running stage after more than a decade.

The National Sugar Development Council disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, saying the development is “a milestone that brings to fruition over a decade of financial, technical and institutional support by the Council.”

According to NSDC, the 300-tonnes-per-day greenfield sugar mill was developed under the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan’s Backward Integration Programme.

The council said it funded the procurement of the factory’s core sugar mill at about N1.64bn and later provided additional funding for cane development and operational support, bringing its total financial commitment to approximately N2.2bn.

It added that the Oyo State Government contributed an estimated N850m in equity funding towards the completion of outstanding works.

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The NSDC Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Kamar Bakrin, said the factory’s readiness for commissioning was the result of sustained contributions from the council, the state government and the project promoters.

“That this factory now stands ready for commissioning is the result of sustained commitment — by the Council, by the Oyo State Government and by the promoters themselves,” Bakrin said.

He added that the council would remain involved as the factory moves towards full-scale commercial production.

“Our work does not end here. The NSDC will remain engaged as OSDL moves into full-scale commercial production, and we expect this project to serve as proof that Nigeria’s sugar sector can be built on locally grown cane,” he said.

The council also commended the promoters and farming communities in Iseyin for developing the project from a cooperative farming venture into an operational factory.

The NSDC said the project was one of the few new-build sugar factories to emerge from the Backward Integration Programme of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan, which seeks to increase domestic sugar production and reduce dependence on imported sugar.