The Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc says billions of naira have been expended in social intervention schemes around the communities hosting DSR Numan in Adamawa State and Tunga Sugar Project in Nasarawa State.

Dangote Sugar, in a statement issued on Monday by the Corporate Communication Department of the company, said with 78,000 hectares of farmland in Nasarawa State, and 32,000 hectares in Adamawa State, it is creating thousands of employment opportunities for Nigerians.

It noted that currently, over 600 workers are being engaged, while 90MW would be generated in the Dangote Sugar Project in Tunga, Nasarawa State.

While speaking at a recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, the Chairman of Dangote Sugar Refinery, Aliko Dangote, noted that Nigeria could rake in foreign exchange of up to $700 million yearly from the BIP scheme.

Dangote warned that the scheme must be protected to insulate the Nigerian economy and create jobs.

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“If the national sugar master plan is followed strictly and the players follow the rules, the country will be better for it as Nigeria will save between $600 million and $700 million annually as forex,” he said.

The company added that when the factory is fully operational, it would have the capacity to crush 12,000 tons of cane per day.

According to the company, some of the Corporate Social Responsibility projects executed include the provision of blocks of classrooms, scholarship, water scheme, rehabilitation and opening up of road network, and construction of health center, among others.

The Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, who was on a working tour of the Dangote’s expansive Savannah Sugar Company (SSCL) Ltd in Numan, Adamawa State, and the Tunga sugar project site in Nasarawa State, had described the projects as “huge, impressive and amazing”.

“It’s a very impressive sight.  It’s amazing that such a project exists in this place. What we’ve seen so far from all the plantations we’ve been to is very impressive. We are impressed with the level of work they are doing,” Adebayo had said.

The Star