US$250 Million Food City Project Signed in Benue State, Nigeria

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Benue State Government of Nigeria and Rexzodeneh Group Limited have formally signed an agreement for the National Food City Complex project. The project involves a total investment of over US$250 million and a planned total area of 30,000 hectares, with the first phase to develop 12,000 hectares in Ogyoma-Akpa, Otukpo Local Government Area, implemented under a 25-year Design-Build-Operate-Transfer model, with the funds required for construction and operation to be mainly borne by the project investor.

The Food City will form an agro-industrial system integrating agricultural cultivation, agricultural product processing, warehousing, cold-chain logistics, energy, and market trading. Five main processing production lines are planned, including a rice processing plant with a daily capacity of 300 tons of paddy, a corn milling and packaging facility with a daily capacity of 250 tons, a cassava processing unit with a daily capacity of 300 tons, a soybean processing plant with a daily capacity of 250 tons, and a soybean oil refining facility with a daily capacity of 50 tons, along with a poultry feed production line with a daily capacity of 300 tons.

In terms of energy support, the park plans to build a 20–25 MW independent hybrid energy system using natural gas, solar energy, and biomass energy to provide electricity for agricultural product processing, cold-chain operations, warehousing, and other park facilities. The project will also include supporting works such as internal roads, warehousing facilities, staff housing, and medical facilities, and an approximately 12-kilometer connecting road has already entered implementation arrangements.

The project plans to integrate approximately 40,000 smallholder farmers into the raw material supply system and create approximately 20,000 long-term direct jobs. The Benue State Government will obtain a 10% project equity interest through land and infrastructure contributions, while the community equity share is 5%, and the project also sets a 70% local employment requirement. South Korea's M.K International Inc. will provide technical support, and agricultural mechanization, drone operations, and modern agricultural technologies will also be introduced into the production system.

This signing moves the project from the state government approval stage into the formal PPP implementation stage. After the completion of the first-phase development of 12,000 hectares, subsequent phased expansion will extend to areas such as Otukpo, Obi, and Ado, and the construction content will continue to generate engineering demand for agricultural product processing equipment, grain warehousing, cold-chain systems, feed production lines, energy equipment, and agricultural machinery.