The Benue State, one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of more than 4 million inhabitants, will commence construction of a state-owned brewery in its capital Makurdi next week. Additionally, the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC), responsible for the investment, will initiate operations at a bakery and a water factory in three weeks. While bottled water and bread will soon be available in the market, the sale of the beer will not start before the end of the year. The plan envisions an initial production of 180,000 bottles per day.
The state plans to invest NGN 800 million (USD 544,000) in its new brewery in Makurdi. Through these initiatives, the government aims to create employment opportunities for the teeming jobless youth and to bolster revenue accrued to the State.
Dr. Raymond Asemakaha, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC), explained to journalists during a tour of the three companies that the ongoing construction work demonstrates BIPC’s commitment to driving economic growth and development in Benue State.
“When we came in, we discovered that beer consumption in the State ranges between NGN 850 million and NGN 870 million [USD 570,00-583,00] per month. In December alone, sales hit NGN 1 billion [USD 670,00],” he said. “So we want to see how we can retain a large percentage of the cash flow within the system because the people in this business are taking our money out of Benue since no beer-producing factory is in the State.”
