The Ogun State government says it will resuscitate the modern garri processing factory in Ode-Remo, Remo-North Local Government Area, and make it a model through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

Kikelomo Longe, the state Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, gave the assurance in Abeokuta on Wednesday.

The commissioner said Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration was committed to boosting jobs creation, alleviating poverty and promoting food security.

Ms Longe said the state government was also willing to ensure that the facility, which stopped operations in 2019, starts working again to boost people’s livelihood and enable residents of the area to optimise the benefits of the state agro-cargo airport.

She explained that the airport was expected to be completed soon and a Special Agro-Processing Zone (SAPZ), close to the garri processing factory.

“The airport and the Special Agro-processing Zone (SAPZ) will be game changers for the state. The projects will put the entire Ilishan area and Ogun State on the world map.

“It is important that clusters like this are gotten right. Again, we want the garri processing factory to be a model. So, if we get it right, we are going to do it in other parts of the state,” the commissioner said.

She, therefore, called for an assessment of the current condition at the facility, stressing that all relevant stakeholders should be engaged while relevant timelines for the project implementation should be stated.

In his remarks, Remi Ogunmefun, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Industry, Trade and Investment, said it was important to consider the significant economic impact the project would have on entrepreneurs involved in the cassava value chain.

(NAN)